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'No rollback of subsidies'

Rajeev Pai in Mauritius

"There will be no rollback of the cut in subsidies, no matter what the political cost," said a senior official of the Union government accompanying Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on his three-day state visit to Mauritius.

He, however, later toned down his stand, saying it was his assessment that there would be no rollback and he could be wrong.

The official, who refused to go on record, scoffed at those who had labelled the Budget soft, asking whether a cut of Rs 80 billion in food and fertiliser subsidies was not a harsh enough measure.

He said allies could not be consulted on the cuts because of the secrecy involved in the preparation of the Union Budget. But the ministers in charge of the public distribution system and fertilisers were consulted, he claimed. Moreover, half an hour before the actual presentation of the Budget in Parliament, the entire Cabinet was informed of the proposals, but obviously exact figures could not be disclosed, he said.

He claimed that pressure from the allies would not work this time because the subsidy cuts are very important for the economy. He was certain the allies would be convinced of the correctness of the measure and fall in line.

On the controversy over the lifting of the ban on Gujarat government employees joining the Rathstriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he said withdrawal of the order was a comedown for the state government, not the Centre.

The Centre had nothing to do with the order, even though the resultant controversy had paralysed Parliament for almost 10 days. Hence the revocation of the order will have no repercussions on the National Democratic Alliance government in New Delhi.

Referring to the United States President's forthcoming visit to the subcontinent, the official said Bill Clinton's decision to make a stopover in Islamabad on his way back was not a snub to New Delhi. He said the Vajpayee government had merely told the Americans that such a move would result in an adverse reaction' in India, but the decision had to be taken by the Americans and could not be imposed by New Delhi. "They have decided to go ahead anyway, which means they are willing to face any adverse reaction," he noted.

But General Pervez Musharraf, chief executive of Pakistan, is already using Clinton's decision to legitimise his military regime, "as we had warned," the official added.

He was sceptical of the US claim that it would pressure the Pakistani military regime to draw up a time table for the restoration of democracy.

On the K Subramanyam Committee's recommendation to separate the posts of principal secretary to the Prime Minister and national security adviser, both of which are currently held by Brajesh Mishra, he said the principal secretary would still be involved in security deliberations because all matters relating to this subject have to pass through him.

But he admitted that combining the two roles could be a problem for some other principal secretary who was not as well versed in foreign policy and defence matters as Mishra.

EARLIER REPORT
Vajpayee leaves for Mauritius

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