Honest introspection on 1991 reforms needed: Former Congress Kerala chief to Sonia Gandhi

Days after Rahul Gandhi suggested that the economic strategy adopted in 1991 has stopped working by 2012, Congress' former Kerala president V M Sudheeran shot off a letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi saying that the party should make an "honest and in-depth introspection" on the economic reforms initiated by it in "deviation" to Nehru-Indira policies before launching a protest against National Monetisation Programme (NMP).

In his two-page letter, which was also copied to former party chief Rahul, Sudheeran also said the Congress will have to make "serious admissions about its deviations from Nehru-Indira economic policies and the mistakes in the past and should make necessary course corrections" to regain the trust and confidence of people.

His comments came as Rahul on September 1 told a press conference referred to the "failure" of Narendra Modi government's policies in tackling the economy and said, "the problem is not cyclical but structural. The economic crisis which we witnessed in 1991 has resurfaced. The economic strategy adopted between 1991 and 2012 is not working now. It (economic reforms) has stopped working in 2012 and we want a new approach. Congress knows what to do."

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Though he did not specify, he was referring to the economic reforms initiated by Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister in 1991. Rahul also did not explain why it stopped working after 2012.

Sudheeran said Rahul was right in saying that the BJP was selling out the crest jewels of the nation's assets created by the Congress governments and the NMP was an addition to the disinvestment and privatisation programmes adopted by the Modi government.

"Congress has to make an honest and in-depth introspection over our own economic policies since 1991, to effectively counter the stance of the BJP leaders in party and government who are propagating that Congress has no moral right to oppose these policies of the NDA Government as they are only following the neo-liberal policies of the Congress pursued since 1991," he said.

"Congress has to make sincere admissions about its deviations from Nehru-Indira economic policies and the mistakes in the past and should make necessary course- corrections to regain the trust and confidence of the people," he added.

He said there was no doubt that the BJP government is pushing ahead with disastrous policies on the economic and social fronts and the Congress is the only party capable of countering these policies at the national level.

But for this, he said, Congress needs to have a "clear vision" about the policies to be pursued in "unambiguous terms" and that it was "high time and inevitable" that the party go back to the economic policies of Nehru and Indira.

"It is high time and right time that the Congress take the initiative and lead in organising nation-wide strong protests, campaigns and sustained struggles, bringing together other like-minded political parties and civil society against the anti-national, anti-people policies and programmes of the Modi government. Adherence to pro-poor, pro-middle-class socio-economic policies by our Party only will strengthen Congress's credibility in taking up people's and nation's issues," he added.

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