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BJS has a Pragmatic Approach to Planning
PSP’s Municipal Socialism

The Praja Socialist Party suggests and lays greater emphasis on the use of local bodies as controllers of social levers. They stand for some sort of municipal socialism.

At a time when decentralisation is in vogue, the idea might look appealing. But in effect municipal socialism may be more dangerous. It deprives the economy of advantages of both centralisation and individual initiative.
Moreover at the present juncture, any programme of this nature will liquidate the independent trader and artisan. The Party’s programme of entrusting economic planning to democratically organised district administration has already been referred to. Talking about dispersal, the PSP manifesto says–

‘The PSP not merely favours dispersal of industries but believes it to be imperative to involve the rural people in the process of industrialisation. The processing industries and many of the consumer goods industries as also light engineering industries that will serve the needs of the rural people and agricultural development, including irrigation, would be offered to district councils and they would be helped, technically and financially, to own and operate them. The District councils may in their turn entrust the task to lower units like the Block Panchayats or a group of Panchayats’.

Obviously if this programme is implemented, the rice mills, flour-mills, biscuit manufacturing, smithy, etc would all be owned and operated by these bodies.

The PSP also wants nationalisation of internal trade on the pattern of the policy enunciated in the industrial policy resolution of 1956. The manifesto writes–
Certain strategic sectors would be earmarked exclusively for State Trading Corporation. A sector will be defined where the state could intervene to correct imbalance in the markets of articles of common consumption as well as articles of industrial raw materials, as and when a critical situation develops in any of these markets. Effective regulation of credit structure, licensing and fiscal policies will be used to regulate the rest of the trade sectors.

All this generalised enunciation is to support Sri Ashok Mehta’s plan of State Trading in Food Grains. Instead of proposing and outright nationalisation of mining, the party suggests that stricter standards of efficiency be laid down for units engaged in exploiting the mineral wealth of the country and ‘and unit not conforming to these strict standards be nationalised forthwith.’

A Step Back

In this respect there is a clear step backwards from its stand in 1957. The Election manifesto for the second general elections laying down the PSP policy of nationalisation wrote–
‘The party believes that in the interest of planned economic development it is essential to nationalise banks, mines and mineral oils. To accelerate capital formation it is necessary for the State to take over big plantations, and trade, wholesale and foreign in selected commodities.’

BJS’ Pragmatic Approach

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh does not want to hinge its production programme to ideological or theoretical considerations. But for the basic limitations of preserving social, cultural and political values, the programme should be practical. It, therefore, does not want to hinder the creative effort of the people. At the same time it does not agree with the view that the State has no economic functions to discharge.

In fact, in an underdeveloped economy, where there is dearth of real entrepreneur, the state has got to initiate the process of development. The former state of Mysore under the Prime Ministership of Sir M. Visveswarayya started a number of new industries. But it neither raised the scaring slogan of socialism nor deprived the real investors of any opportunity.

However, the field of state activity has to be determined after a correct appraisal of the people’s needs and the capacity of the administration. While Jana Sangh believes that defence and managed by the State, it considers it necessary that for third plan period, the State should concentrate more on consolidation than on expansion. The manifesto therefore says–
‘Stress in the public sector will be on consolidation rather than extension on doctrinaire grounds. The projects taken up in hand during the last plan period will be completed quickly and in future only those industries will be started by the Government which are of a basic nature and are necessary for the development of agriculture and other industries.’

Dealing with the question of basic industries the Jana Sangh enunciates its policy thus–
‘The Jana Sangh stands for nationalising defence and basic industries. However, in the near future, it feels that the state should mainly concern itself with the establishment and development of defence industries. As for basic industries the state will utilise its resources for adequate development of railways, mineral oils, hydro-electric and atomic power. Private enterprise will be associated in the establishment and development of other industries.’

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