“Dr Manmohan Singh was clearly making a clean break from the past from the path of socialism, state control, regulations, import control, export control, foreign exchange control,” Chidambaram said. “It was not an easy decision. He must have believed in it deeply and for a long time. When he got the opportunity, he did not flinch. He just went ahead and did what he thought was right according to the laws of economics.”
While acknowledging the support Singh received from then-Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, Chidambaram said, “The courage that Dr Manmohan Singh displayed in breaking from the past over 40 years, is, I think, extraordinary and unprecedented.”
Despite resistance from the party’s old guard, Singh remained steadfast. “The old guard of the party, which was schooled in the time when Congress Party adopted socialism as the goal, was naturally opposed to Dr Manmohan Singh’s reform measures. He patiently explained to them, and I think eventually they fell in line when they saw that the growth rate had picked up sharply and the people were happy with more jobs, more growth, more availability of goods and services,” Chidambaram said.
Also Read: The poetic side of Manmohan Singh
Describing Singh as a patient teacher, he added, “The younger members learnt very fast, and he was a patient teacher. He will sit with each minister and listen to him and explain what good economics is, and other younger members learned very fast. So I think he took the good and the bad in stride, and was quite stoically, but he was convinced that the path that we had taken was a path to prosperity and greater growth.”
Chidambaram also recounted Singh’s principled stand during the Indo-US nuclear deal negotiations. “I remember he was very hurt when, in the face of fierce resistance by the left parties, some members of his party had tried to persuade them to give up the Indo-US nuclear deal. He called me and said, in such circumstances, if he was forced to scrap the Indo-US nuclear deal talks, he would have no option but to step down. I said, it won’t come to such a pass, there is a committee, and we are working on the left parties. But I understand that if, on a matter of principle, the party does not support the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister would have to step down,” Chidambaram said.
He added, “The only time I know that he contemplated resignation was where there was fierce resistance from outside and from some sections inside the party to the Indo-US nuclear deal, but otherwise he was quite stoical.”
Also Read: Dr Manmohan Singh: The statesman who reshaped India’s economic destiny
