Industry will be disappointed if Chidambaram is not finance minister

Industry and stock market leaders say they will be disappointed if Tamil Maanila Congress leader and Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram remains adamant on not joining the new United Front government.

Industry leaders expressed relief late on Saturday night when I K Gujral was named leader of the United Front, hoping that the reforms would continue. However, the TMC's decision to support the government from outside means Chidambaram will not remain finance minister.

This development has upset leaders of the two leading chambers of commerce -- the Federation of Indian Chambers of Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

CII president Shekhar Datta says Chidambaram had carried out the economic reforms very aggressively and produced a path-breaking Budget for fiscal 1997-98. He hoped that Gujral's finance minister is as pro-reform and pro-industry as his predecessor.

Gujral's statement that his government will continue with Chidambaram's investment-friendly policies has enthused industry which has been anxious about the fate of the economic reforms these past three weeks of political uncertainty.

Despite their affection for Chidambaram, industry leaders feel that since the Budget was the offspring of the entire United Front team and not an individual effort, the Finance Bill will be passed retaining its essence.

FICCI president A S Kasliwal felt the Budget reflected the current economic circumstances. ''These circumstances are favourable for industry,'' he said.

While industry's response to the TMC's decision seems rational, the stock markets are likely to react negatively when it opens on Monday. Chidambaram's absence at the finance ministry, says Delhi Stock Exchange president Ashok Kumar Agarwal, will certainly hit the stockmarkets.