This is how democratic society runs; democratic culture is developed that way. But how is this Cabinet functioning? Is there is coordination in the Cabinet? The Prime Minister has the reputation of being a strong willed Prime Minister and I know that he himself is an experienced Administrator and a strong man at that : I can tell you so from my own experience. But that is not enough. What is needed is some sort of intelligent coordination and cooperation amongst the Ministers. The most important matters in this country are steel production, coal production, power production, petroleum, transport, cement, the Ministries dealing with these things are important.....
An Hon. Member : Airlines?
Shri Yashwantrao Chavan : ‘Airlines’ is not so important.
But here we find that these Ministers make policy statements on their own which sometimes are found out to be not the policy of the government. The Prime Minister’s views are somewhat different. Then what is the policy? There must be coordination among the Finance Ministry, the Planning Commission and the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, particularly about the wage policy and certain economic policies. Unless there is coordination, things do not move as fast as they should. But here we find a complete lack of coordination between the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry. Take the wage policy, for example. Certain individual Ministers go on making certain statements about wages, about bonus. I am not taking any view on merits on this matter. (Interruptions) If it comes to that, certainly we will take a view on that also. We are not in a hurry about it. I can only tell you that my sympathies are with the working class. (Interruptions). Do not suppose that you have the monopoly of leading them and looking after their interests (Interruptions) The wage policy, for example, is a very important policy and wage policy are very closely linked, and in these matters I find that there is a complete lack of coordination in the Cabinet. How are we going to get the result? On the contrary, this lack of coordination has created further difficulties and magnified our problems.
I find that there is a complete drift in the economic policy. If this drift in the economic policy is allowed to be continued, then we are going to see our end, sooner then expected. Who is responsible for this, this terrible situation that we are facing today in the country as I told you, the tragic destruction of the national ethos of secularism in this country, the sad picture on the political front, a completely deteriorating picture on the economic front, a complete lack of coordination in the Cabinet and disruptions in the political party system.
