Pranab aims to bring BJP on board over reforms

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BJP MPs Sushma Swaraj and Shahnawaz Hussain outside Parliament after the Budget presentation in New Delhi on Monday. PHOTO: G.N

Will finance minister Pranab Mukherjee win over the main Opposition BJP in getting its support to the reforms in banking and insurance sectors which he has stated in his Budget on Monday. This is the question being discussed in the political circles shortly after he presented the Budget.

Mr Mukherjee, the key strategist of the UPA, touched two core issues which are dearer to the BJP — black money and corruption. He assured the main Opposition that the government is serious in checking these issues.
The minister is known for having a good rapport with BJP heavyweight L.K. Advani and Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, respectively.

This he would use for passage of the seven bills in the financial sectors he plans to move in Parliament. They are: the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, the Life Insurance Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2009, the revised Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, first introduced in 2005, Banking Laws Amendment Bill, 2011, Bill on Factoring and Assignment of Receivables, the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks Laws) Amendment Bill, 2009 and Bill to Amend RDBFI Act 1993 and SARFAESI Act, 2002.
The BJP and the Congress have no basic differences on the economic reforms which had introduced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he was finance minister in 1991. This has virtually ended the licence-permit raj.
Dr Singh wants the reforms to go ahead vigorously at a time when the Left is in no position to stop it in UPA-2. His vision of reforms got reflected in the Budget. Most of the regional parties lack conviction on reforms. In fact, most of them had even backed the nuclear deal with the US in 2008.
Mr Mukherjee in his speech said: “The financial sector reforms initiated during the early 1990s have borne good results for the Indian economy. The UPA government is committed to take this process further.”