Numbers of politicians in India are ever increasing. But rarely India is producing a statesman – a leader to whom the country’s interest is paramount, a person to whom humanity always gets the first preference, a person who is not guided by partisan view. It’s a pity that such persons are rarely found in India these days. Thus, it came as a welcome relief, when former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh stood firm and told his party men not to bring any amendments while passing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in Rajya Sabha. His argument was simple. “There is no need to delay the passage of GST Bill by bringing amendments. It will definitely show that who has the majority in Rajya Sabha. But at the same time it will hurt the government’s effort to introduce the new tax rule from July 1,” Dr. Singh argued.
The effort of Dr. Singh deserves more praise because during his tenure as prime minister, he tried to implement GST. But sometimes his coalition partners or the then principal opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scuttled his moves for silly reasons. The same thing happened during the Indo-US Civil Nuclear deal also. But today, the same BJP is going all out to maximize the benefits of Civil Nuclear Deal and the tax reforms proposed by Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Government. The Congress wanted to pay BJP back in the same coin. But like a true statesman, Dr. Manmohan Singh put country’s interest above his personal loss or gains and made the GST dream a reality.
Dr. Manmohan Singh’s stand in passing the GST Bill in Rajya Sabha should be an eye-opener to all other politicians. These days the politicians see everything through a partisan and political prism. The politicians will not even take a step if that is not going to help him or his party. The most horrible instance of that partisan attitude is the manner in which West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee is opposing the Teesta Treaty between India and Bangladesh. In case of such treaties, country’s interest should always get priority over state’s interest. But ignoring the fact that Bangladesh has helped India immensely in containing insurgency in Assam, Mamta Banerjee is opposing the treaty by raising the possible plight of the people living on the banks of Teesta in North Bengal. The opposition of the West Bengal Chief Minister is clearly based on electoral calculations. More she will pretend to fight for the people of the state, her vote share will increase. But what she is not realizing that Bengal has no future, if India suffers. From her opposition to Teesta Treaty, it is clearly evident that Mamta Banerjee lacks the vision of a statesman. It is time for her to take a leaf out of Manmohn’s book. So that she can serve the people of Bengal in a better manner. A statesman should always be ready to make sacrifices, rather than counting personal gains and political benefits.
