For the first time, after seven decades of India’s Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has built a unique coalition of a permanent new majority of voters who believe in the cherished values of our culture and the Sanatana Dharma. The prime minister has articulated a modern political ideology that could ensure good governance and ethics in the public life of the country.
Included in this new majority are the members of the RSS, the vast number of people who follow yoga guru Baba Ramdev, members of the Art of Living organisation who follow the spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar, the aspiring youth of the digital era who form a vigorous majority of our nation, and the affluent and influential Indian diaspora spread all over the world. The hat-trick began on the turbulent and exciting Kashmir front with the surgical strikes on October 28 carried out brilliantly by our armed forces. In one stroke, it called the nuclear bluff of Pakistan, which is ably assisted by its friends North Korea, China and others.
This was followed by a totally unexpected surgical strike on the financial front by the prime minister’s announcement on November 8, of demonetisation of `500 and `1000 notes, which formed 86 per cent of all currency. All pervasive corruption and black money had become the bane of India. Especially during UPA I and II, there was a continuous demonstration of the rot in every sector of public life resulting from the cynical and unethical style of governance marked by the 2G scam, Commonwealth Games scam, Coalgate and so on. The third part of the hattrick was carried out simultaneously with these headlinegrabbing events.
This was the patient building up of the consensus for the GST Bill, which ultimately would ensure that we have a “one nation and one tax” regime. In fact, the initiative taken by the prime minister must be examined not only in the context of the upcoming 2019 elections, but also considering the post-independence management of the Indian financial sector. As Shankar Aiyyar points out in his article (To curb black money, strike at the business model of politics) in Express dated November 14, “The quest to curb black money and corruption is as old as the Republic of India. For seven decades, the twin devils have haunted India. There have been demonetisations, even disclosure schemes since the creation of institutions of vigilance, and legislation of new laws to tackle corruption and black money. Yet, as the Eagles sing in Hotel California, ‘They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast’ ”.
This latest effort was the third attempt of demonetisation. The first demonetisation of 1946 resulted in the demonetisation of `143 crore, out of a total of `1,235 crore with the public. In 1978, the Morarji Desai regime demonetised about `135 crore out of a total of `9,152 crore in circulation. In 2016, the Modi government has demonetised `14.95 lakh crore out of `16.38 lakh crore. Anyone can see immediately how the amount of high denomination currency demonetised has explosively grown from 1.52 per cent of the notes in circulation to nearly 86 per cent. Naturally, the impact on the economy, especially when it comes to cash transactions, is certainly unprecedented in the third one, compared with the first two attempts.
It is generally said that when people try, they might succeed in their third attempt. The question is: will the Modi government prove to be third time lucky? As an ardent admirer and wellwisher of our energetic prime minister who is a Karmayogi, I venture to submit some ideas to ensure success in this noble national effort. _ In an emotionally charged speech, the prime minister on November 13 indicated what his future strategy would be when he said that the fight against black money will continue relentlessly.
Action on the legislative side for the confiscation of benami properties has already been initiated and the legislative measure is in the advanced stage. _ The launching of the GST will go a long way in helping to curb the growth of black money. _ There is one vital measure which I would urge the prime minister very strongly to take to ensure that this third attempt at demonetisation and tackling of black money in the economy does not fail like its predecessors— the government must immediately enact that the proposal of the legal eagle Fali Nariman, made in the Rajya Sabha when he was a nominated member of the Upper House, to nationalise all the accounts of Indian citizens in the tax havens of the world.
This will ensure that a large loophole in our current financial architecture is plugged and that in future, the black money will not accumulate there. _ Well-managed countries like the United States and United Kingdom do not have very high denomination currency notes. In the UK, the highest denomination is fifty pounds, while in the US, it is hundred dollars. We must also, within five years, migrate to a system where the largest denomination is five hundred rupees. Our prime minister has already created history in the politics of independent India by the tectonic shift to the right he piloted in 2014. With above four measures, along with the six he has already hit with demonetisation, Modi will ensure his place as the greatest prime minister of this century!
N Vittal Former Central Vigilance Commissioner
Email: nagarajanvittal@hotmail.com