BJP's progress report

Nirmala Sitharaman

Leading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre from 1999 to 2004, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had shown that a focus on good governance takes the country forward exponentially. Notwithstanding, the party was defeated in 2004 and subsequently in 2009, too. But since the BJP's conviction lies in good governance, it conti nu ed on that path in the states wh ere it was elected to power. And the results are now beginni ng to show, not just in a sector or two but across the board. Good go vernance's benefits reach not just a party's voters, but all citizens, and that is the high point of the good governance agenda. This sharply contrasts with the absence of a focused agenda, un f ortunately, wherever the Congress is in power. Governance, and the lack of it, gets shown in performance. Let us see how: In the last fortnight, there have been media reports, not so pr o m i nent, I may add, on states and the growth in their gross do mestic product (GDP). There were al so reports on unemp l oy ment and successful job place ments by various state govern ments. So also was there a flee ting mention of states and their success in im p­lementing the Prime Minister's minority wel fa re schemes. Thr o u gh these re p orts we can broadly see where governments have de l ivered and where they have failed. The top three states with highest growth, not surprisingly, are BJP-ruled. Chhattisgarh, which was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, topped the list - it logged 11.49 per cent growth in the last fiscal (2009-10). Gujarat ranked second with 10.53 per cent growth and a surprise at the third place is Uttarakhand with 9.41 per cent growth. Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand are just 10 years old - both fo r med thanks to the NDA on the belief that smaller states are better for governance. Jharkhand too was formed then, however, it has suffered for want of governance. Welfare pundits may justifiably argue that GDP growth alone is an insufficient measure. Growth has to be inclusive and equitable, and other welfare indicators such as health, nutrition and education have to go hand in hand. And, of course, there must prevail a sense of security and harmony for economic prosperity to be savoured. Chhattisgarh's performance is ag ainst heavy odds stacked up against it. A new state with typical demands on its resources may not be in a position to fight a well-armed guerrilla force with very high inter-state mobility. Chhattisgarh, however, has fac ed this challenge in spite of the incessant negative publicity human rights groups uncaringly throw at it. Chhattisgarh stands out for two other remarkable initiatives, too. By the use of simple mobile phone-based texting, it has brought greater transparency to its Public Distribution System (PDS). Largely operated by self-help groups, right from the godowns to the retail outlets at the village level, total transparency has been achieved at the end-user level of the PDS. Similarly, Chhattisgarh's measures to restore all the Waqf property to the Waqf's control, wresting it from encroachments and illegal occupations, offering funds for fencing them and carrying out other necessary changes to make the Waqf Board financially self-sufficient have been done keeping everyone's dignity intact. Rather than doling out largesse, treating everyone as equal and giving their due has been Chhattisgarh's governing principle. Uttarakhand, the other young sm all state's achievements are again against severe odds, but many of its projects are beginning to show results. Uttarakhand is heavily dependent on tourism. And to Uttarakhand's credit goes the fantastic organisation of Mahakumbh 2010 which was completely incident free. Over a span of three months more than 10 crore people visited Haridwar. Policemen, officers and volunteers engaged in crowd control did so without even a lathi in their hands. In any other country, the chief minister of the state would have been honoured for such an efficient, safe and smooth event. But achievements sit lightly on the shoulders of modest leaders. Many would say that Gujarat, with a per capita income of $833 (national $627), is a developed state and hence its second rank need not surprise us. It is important to take note of the string of international awards the state has received every year since 2002, from reputed bodies such as the United Nations (United Nations Public Service Award), Unesco, the Dubai government, the Wall Street Journal, Institute for Transport and Development Policy, US, and the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management, apart from several international innovation awards. These awards have been given for wide-ranging governance initiatives that use technology for citizens' grievance redressal, slum networking, rural digital inclusion, sustainable transport system and water management. Answering a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for labour, Mallikarjun Kharge, said that Gujarat topped the list in providing maximum job placements through employment exchanges. Remember them - the only source of jobs once upon a time? In three years (2007 to 2009) Gujarat placed 5.50 lakhs of people in employment. The second best in this category was Maharashtra (equally industrialised) which offered a mere 42,000 jobs. According to a news report, "Though Left-ruled Bengal and Kerala… had the highest number of people registered with the employment exchanges, their placement records were dismal". It is worth mentioning that we are talking here of the years of global financial meltdown. The Prime Minister's 15-point national plan for minority welfare was reviewed by the Cabinet recently, chaired by the Prime Minister himself. At this meeting Gujarat and Karnataka earned justifiable praise for having "put in place the Standard Operating Procedures to prevent and take action during communal riots". They better do, we may say. It is useful to recall that there has not been any riot since 2002, fortunately. But as one media report noted: "Most Congress-ruled states such as Maharashtra, barring Haryana, have not". Maharashtra, as we know, is very communally sensitive. The Cabinet meeting also observed that Madhya Pradesh has been steadily upgrading madrasas under the scheme for providing quality education in madrasas. It is fairly well known that the per capita income of Muslims in Gujarat is the highest in the country, and access to education for minorities in Gujarat is better again compared to any other state in the country.? On the three reported critical measures - growth, employment and minority welfare -BJP-ruled states have shown their performance. Good governance and not appeasement brings benefits. Benefits for all. Nirmala Sitharaman is spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The views expr essed in this column are her own.