Enron deal and the poet-politician: Continuing legacy of Vajpayee's wavering Swadeshi stance

By Prof. Hemantkumar Shah*

After the Lok Sabha elections in 1996, the BJP-led coalition government was formed for the first time under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. At that time, Shankar Dayal Sharma was the President. He invited Vajpayee to form the government because the BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha elections. Sharma had asked Vajpayee to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha.

However, Vajpayee was unable to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha. As a result, he had to resign after serving as prime minister for only 13 days.

During its short, 13-day tenure, the government held its first and last cabinet meeting on June 1, where it conducted only two tasks:

* Passing a resolution for the government's resignation.

* Granting approval to the American company Enron for a power plant in Dabhol, Maharashtra.

For Vajpayee, in that single cabinet meeting, nothing seemed more important for the country than approving a power plant for the Enron company! This was Vajpayee's unwavering devotion to 'Swadeshi' (a term for self-reliance and local production).

At that time, the RSS's Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) had already been established, and the SJM had blown the bugle of the Swadeshi movement against the Narasimha Rao government. Despite this, there is no public record of the RSS or the SJM making any statement against Vajpayee's decision. Vajpayee was a prominent RSS worker. He became prime minister again in 1998 and served until 2004. For six years, this "devotee of foreign companies," Vajpayee, had the full support of the RSS.

If we say that Manmohan Singh "laid out a red carpet" for foreign companies, then it can also be said that Vajpayee "ran to welcome foreign companies" on that red carpet! This is a matter of historical record and can be proven with data.

Here is another event: A meeting for the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was held in the city of Marrakesh, Morocco, on April 14-15, 1994. Pranab Mukherjee, as the Commerce Minister for the Narasimha Rao government, went there to sign.

Exactly one week before that, on April 8, 1994, in a press conference in Delhi, Vajpayee had said, "If the BJP comes to power, India will withdraw from the WTO."

Later, Vajpayee served as prime minister for six years from 1998 to 2004, but he seemed to have forgotten this statement. He was a poet, so it was natural for him to forget! I also don't recall the RSS or the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch ever reminding the poet prime minister of his promise.

Both of these events show how dear foreign companies are to the BJP. The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch still exists, and Narendra Modi simultaneously sings the song of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-reliant India) and invites foreign companies!

Intelligent people should accept these two facts. It's natural for blind followers to not see any facts.

---

*Senior economist based in Ahmedabad

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Health Day ads spark row as NAPi targets Britannia campaign, criticizes celebrity endorsement

By A Representative The advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) has raised concerns over what it describes as misleading advertising of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), particularly those high in sugar, fat and salt, calling for stricter regulations and an end to such promotions across media platforms.

Search This Blog