Devil's Advocate: Kamal Nath

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Devil's Advocate: Kamal Nath

In an exclusive interview with Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, Minister of Industry and Commerce Kamal Nath discusses issues like Nandigram violence, SEZs and FDI in retail sector.

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Karan Thapar: So what you are saying is that what we end up with depends critically on what you get from the industry.

Kamal Nath: What we end up with depends critically on whether it encompasses our objective of all inclusive goals.

Karan Thapar: You have clearly established the government's position. How do you know that corporate India isn't doing what you are asking for? Companies like Hindustan Lever, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Auto say that even today more than 50 per cent of their staff comes from SCs/STs and OBCs. If that is the case then they are doing what you want.

Kamal Nath: Then why are they not coming up with that.

Karan Thapar: Well they have come up with that.

Kamal Nath: So if they are doing it then they should say please enforce it because they are already doing it. Then why should anybody resist it?

Karan Thapar: It is not just the three companies that I mentioned. The President of CII R Seshasayee says that the majority of companies in the manufacturing sector already employ up to 35 per cent of their work force from backward classes.

Kamal Nath: Problem is solved.

Karan Thapar: In the services the figure is even higher. And you say problem solved.

Kamal Nath: If they are saying that we are already doing it then they should in fact come to government and say make it mandatory because they have to do nothing more.

Karan Thapar: But you dont need to make it mandatory because if they are already doing it voluntarily, in fact your problem is solved.

Kamal Nath: Why should there be resistance if they say "we are already doing it".

Karan Thapar: There is something very interesting what you are saying, You have called for a certain type of response from industry, affirmative action, which does not approve reservation and yet it now emerges that industry is already doing what you want them to do. So did you not know the position?

Kamal Nath: We know the position but what the position is very inaccurate is that our growth. If you see our growth in the last 10 years has been very largely urban centric and let me tell you this for districts, like my own districts in Chhindwara, why the growth. So I am not going to look at the urban centres. I am going to look at the districts of my country.

Karan Thapar: Lets stick to the issue I am raising and will come to the growth in a moments time. What I am saying to you is that industry claims that they are already doing what the government wants them to do.

Kamal Nath: Let them substantiate their claims. I don’t want a sweeping statement. If they say it, let them say it on facts and figures.

Karan Thapar: You say you want facts and figures. You want industry to substantiate it. May be industry will take up your challenge and substantiate it. Let me however quote to you Government figures, which prove that industry is doing exactly what you want. The NSSO 1999, which is the most recent of the NSSO studies available, conclusively shows that the share of SCs, STs and OBCs in employment is exactly proportional to their share of the population.

Kamal Nath: So what is the problem. What is the point of making?

Karan Thapar: But then why are you raising this demand.

Kamal Nath: We are not raising this demand. This is our objective. It’s not a demand.