When General Motors president Charles Wilson was appointed secretary of defence by President Dwight David Eisenhower in the early 1950s, the possibility of conflict of interest was very real. Asked if he could make a decision adverse to the interests of GM, Wilson said he could not, but added he could not conceive of such a situation, “because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for GM and vice versa.” That statement has sinced morphed into “What’s good for GM is good for America.”
In a week when captains of Indian industry have plumped for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Damodar Modi as the next prime minister, it is worth asking: “Is what is good for Indian industrialists, good for India, too?”
# Airtel chief Sunil Mittal has said: “We have seen CEOs running good companies, but Modi is that successful CEO who runs an entire state. We need him in Delhi.”
# Anil Ambani of ADAG has said: “If one Dhirubhai Ambani could do so much just imagine what ten Dhirubhais could have done. For Modi, too, one can say the same thing. He is the next leader of India.”
While such a rousing endorsement must be sweet music for Modi, 58, it does two things.
One, it throws the BJP leadership issue into a tizzy. The designated PM-candidate Lal Krishna Advani, 82, is waiting in the wings, 85-year-old Bhairon Singh Shekawat has thrown his hat into the ring, and there are other claimants. And two, it opens up the old debate: can a state, or a nation, be run like a company? Can a nation be run like a business, with all the focus on the “bottomline”? Is what is good for India Inc, good for India?
In other words, because Gujarat has shown good growth under Modi, is it naturally presumed that Modi has it in him to overcome all the big issues of the day?
whether that holds or not, what holds for sure is that a bunch of yes-men and lapdogs who can’t perform on a national stage cannot perform anywhere.
He’s already running Gujarat efficiently, isn’t he? Gujarat is not a “factory”! Why confuse the issue?
I prefer him over India’s INC’s choice.
Modi is sadar vallabhai patel of today. Give him a chance to become PM and see how he keep the ball rolling to which side [?] Already his proposition to the post itself has created panic, what if he ready occupy the seat. Better to choose somewhat youngster than choosing a budda of 85 years who can do nothing but deliver long speaches. Best of luck Modi
Give these businessmen free land and throw in some tax concessions, and they will starting singing praises of Chief Ministers.
1. They did it with Chandrababu Naidu
2. They did it with Buddhadhev
In Naidu’s case, it was clear that what was good for industrialists wasn’t good for the common man.
Yes, Modi in Delhi. But not as a challenger to Advani. Industrialists did not mean that either. It has come from fertilised brain of a section of media. Its really about model of development – Guj model.
Modi will become PM after Advani.
Imagine if same were told about Rahul- same media would have gone to town with another spin.
By the way- why cong is not clearing who will be Cong’s PM choice?
Dictators and fascists have always been good for Industrialists and business right?
During the bloody rule of pinochet Chile became the illustrious model to be copied for a booming economy, so was the case with so many dictators in Africa too..
So human rights and a freedom of expression are the least concerns for these esteemed personalities of our country. They need their business to thrive and for that they will vouch for any looneys!
If this praise and admiration were showered on a CM from a party found by British, led by Italian or from a party that is full of ummahists (as the one in J&K) I bet this question would not even have sprung up in the esteemed brain cells of the author of this poll. Can you honestly tell us if this twisted poll would have come up if about Raul Ghandi or Omar Abdullah if those naalaayaks actually showed even one millionth of Modi’s administration skills and industry rooted for them?
Here are few of polls for you.
‘What is good for Ghandi family good for India?’
‘What is good for Kashmiri mussalmaans good for India?’
‘What is good for DMK good for India?’
One thing is for sure. What India’s JNU brand secularists propagate has not been good for India.
Truth>Give these businessmen free land and throw in some tax concessions, and they will starting singing praises of Chief Ministers.
Modi is not so. He openly spoke in many forums against competitive sops by different state govts doing harm to overall balanced development of the country, inefficiency.
Modi was never in the rat race of giving sops. When Singur fiasco was going on, many state govts openly asked Tata to relocate- Modi never did that. Only when Tata openly stated they r going to pull out of Singur, Advani stepped in, had a talk with Ratan Tata and Nano went to Gujarat.
As far as bigger question of industrialists and national leaders- it always have been there.
Mahatma Gandhi’s close relationship with Birla, Bajaj…are well known. I remember seeing JRD Tata in a photo with Indira Gandhi afer Pokhran I.
National leaders and industrialists need one another in a nation state. Perhaps no other than founder of Lashkar E Taiba put it bluntly while justifying jehadi terror attack on economic centers all over India:
” whether its mumbai, or delhi, or bangalore – all under scanner of Lashkae E Taiba because its economic might of India that is stopping Kashmir becoming free.”
But what we can say without any doubt today: Congress’s invocation of Hitler has ensured it will never rule Gujarat for next 2-3 decades.
TM-Salman Khursheed yesterday clarified that Manmohan Singh is the PM candidate though he said Rahul is future PM material.Is running business everything for India Inc. What about 2002, how can we forget that.How can person who presided over the killing and massacre of thousands of people be the PM candidate.Our country deserves some one better.
Clash, we need to give “Dictators and fascists” a fair chance :)
Apravasi Bharatiya, 2002 was the best that ever happened to this country. Why do you grumble?
Clash, dictators and fascists, may be effective, but only in the short term – like Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, etc., Most of them are like the thugs with whom the Indian government has maintained very close ties, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, who drive their nations and people to rack and ruin.
When every politician of the land is busy drying lakes and adding them to their property portfolio, here we have a CM who took the initiative of reviving and building lakes and tanks; that too not for aesthetic reasons like we in Mysore want to restore our lakes for(ecological benefit is a common factor), water is for the people and don’t such little, precious efforts reduce the need for behemoth water projects?
It is our misfortune that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have killed most of the water tanks and lakes, wouldn’t the bickering for water be a lot less if we had preserved our valuable water resources?
Many movies have been and are being, made on Gujarat riots; IMHO, not even one of them shows objectively how the establishment abetted and carried out the alleged persecution of Muslims. Come on, when you have senior bureaucrats resigning and joining your “movement,” you can at least showcase some of the “real” facts, right?
(Don’t point me to “Final Solution,” I found no difference between it and Star News’ TRP-hungry, rabble-rousing coverage of the issue.)
I think narendra modi is the suitable candidate for pm not in the view of industrialist who always wants their ends ot be meet but in the eye of common man who is panic due to terror attacks i think in my opinion modi is the right choice to tackle terrorism and make hindus feel safe in their own country.One cannot forget Advani told in front liberman commision about babri masjid after geeting into power he soon changed his way but modi stick to his stand.
Generally I would agree with this provocative statement, except that in the context of Narendra Modi as PM, I have to disagree. He is an assertive personality, who is best to deal with both security concerns and socio-economic progress of India. To this limited extent, what is good for India Inc happens to be good for the rest of India too.
Kangeya,
You do great disservice by uttering the name of Narendra Modi in the same breath as Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Kim Il Jong. Of the first three, Hitler was the one who killed least, about 60 million jews, slavs and gypsies. Stalin’s record is close to 100 million of his own people. Mao’s record is even better, about 130 millioin of his own people. I do not have statistics of Kim Il Jong’s murderous record, although I am certain that it can come close second to Hitler. What has Narendra Modi done? Run cocnentration camps, made mass graves like Katyn in Poland? Run slave labour camps like Stalin, to kill people by sheer exhaustion? Create artificial famin like Mao and Stalin to kill a couple of dozen million in each famin?
Naming Narendra Modi along with History’s worst murderous dictators may make good rhetoric, but not a good statemen of facts. According to Government of India statistics, the number of muslims killed in 2002 roits was 790, that of the Hindus was 254. Is this, by any stretch of imagination, genocide conduced by Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Kim Il Jong?
On the economic front, no doubt, none of the four murderous dictators brought real progress to their respective countries. I agree that any apparent progress brought about by them was only for short term. The reason was that they followed the principle of “rob peter and pay paul”. None attemtped to create wealth. About Narendra Modi’s recrod of creation of wealth, Government statistics, that of Central Government, speak better than the virulent rhetoric of liberal press and eletronic media. Ask Incia Inc. They are nobody’s mouth piece.
“You do great disservice by uttering the name of Narendra Modi in the same breath as Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Kim Il Jong.”
– B.N.Gururaj – Sir, I don’t think Kaangeya did any such thing. Please check again.
Dear Palahalli,
Here is Kaangeya’s sesntence:
“dictators and fascists, may be effective, but only in the short term – like Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, etc., ”
No doubt Narendra Modi is not named here along with other mass murderers. The context of the reference is Narendra Modi. Implicitly, Narendra Modi’s name is equated or uttered in the same breath as these villains.
To say that “so and so did not steal my watch” is as defamatory as falsely accusing “so and so” of stealing the watch.
The “prosperity” in Gujarat is only for the ruling class elite. In other words, poor people (90% of Indians) can never expect any progress from free market capitalism. India Inc needs to be shut down and socialism needs to be implemented immediately! CEO’s and all private corporations should be publicly controlled.
Abhi…why? You don’t want to spare the 10% who are rich? Crawl back under that filthy stone you came out of!
yes, let’s have modi as PM, then we’ll have riots all over the country! innocent children will be orphanged, and pregnant women will get gangraped, like they did in the Gujarat riots under Modi. More, due to his hate politics, more and more jihadis will be ready to destroy India. Only the ambanis, mittals and tatas will get richer, that’s all. Sign up against this madness! http://www.petitiononline.com/30JAN09/petition.html