Rahul Gandhi, the dynasty of the Congress party has often accused Modi government of being ‘suit boot ki sarkar’ or ‘Adani-Ambani ki Sarkar’. The accusation is that the government supports corporates and its policies do not favor common people of India. The middle class and poor people happier in the country compared to UPA government is a fact but we should examine whether the Modi government is real or ‘Adani-Ambani ki Sarkar. Which government favored the Adani and Ambani family business more?
It is well known that the Ambani family has is significant clout in Congress party till late 2000s. As per Nira Radia tapes, Mukesh Ambani said “Congress to ab apni dukaan hai,” to Ranjan Bhattacharya. “Reliance’s orientation, right from the time of Dhirubhai was Congress…Dhirubhai was credited with helping Indira come back to power… the company and its promoters were always seen to be close to the Congress,” said another official.
The main business of Mukesh Ambani is petrochemicals and refinery and he got Murli Deora, father of Milind Deora appoint as petroleum minister of the country. Murli Deora joined Congress party back in late 1960s and was loyal member of the party till death. After the rise of Ambani family, he became their protégé in Congress party.
Mukesh Ambani’s clout in Congress was so much that he got a union petroleum minister transferred in less than two years. S. Jaipal Reddy who was appointed as petroleum minister in the first month of 2011 did not favor Mukesh Ambani. He transferred bureaucrats who favored RIL and imposed a fine of 7,000 crore rupees to RIL for a drop in production of Gas in KG basin and violations mentioned in 2001 CAG report. On 28 October 2012, less than two years after the appointment he was removed from petroleum minister and given a less significant portfolio of Minister of Science and Technology.
Adani group acquired non-agricultural land and developed ports under Congress Chimanbahi Patel and Shankarsinh Vaghela. He said that he has got cooperation from both political parties. The market capitalization of both companies fell under the NDA government despite the rise of Sensex. Both the companies are not defaulters and they paid back their loans despite a steep fall in the value.
The hesitation of the Congress party to accept capitalism as economic ideology forced the party to embrace crony capitalism. The industrial deals were being made behind closed doors and bidding was open to a few selected people who were supporters of Congress party. The Nehru-Gandhi family did not like to be seen with industrialists in public although they were more than happy to meet them in Delhi circles. This double standard has harmed the country in many ways as the big contracts were given on the basis of whether the industrialist is close to the Gandhi family or some other Congress leaders.
Modi government being ‘Adani-Ambani ki Sarkar’ is a baseless accusation. The crony capitalists benefitted more under the UPA era and the Modi government shut the doors for them. It established rule-based capitalist economy where profit and hard work is rewarded.