A business-friendly government should accept the jokes and listen to the people

Earlier this year, after the Supreme Court struck down the BJP government’s electoral bond scheme that allowed the party to raise over Rs 8 billion in controversial bonds, investigative reports and critics suggested or alleged that companies were forced to buy the bonds in exchange for payments related to raids by law enforcement agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate or the Income Tax Department. These allegations are denied and have not been pursued as far as we know.

It is worth recalling that the Congress government was once accused of presiding over a corrupt regime of licenses, permits and quotas, in which politicians or officials had to be catered to or bribed to get permits. Although this changed somewhat after 1991, when many such permits were scrapped as part of a new reform agenda, the government still dominates Indian affairs through a combination of regulatory rules, laws, physical permits and a dubious culture of law enforcement.

The Coimbatore incident also shows that some BJP leaders may want to project an image of a Modi government that needs to be subservient to industrialists rather than treated in a friendly but professional manner. With such friends, the Modi-Shah duo does not need adversaries.

The Annapoorna chain runs 16 restaurants in Coimbatore and a few outside the city in Tamil Nadu. It is a local icon that rivals national brands such as Hotel Saravana Bhavan and Haldiram. Iconic brands have a way of creating an image that can invite some criticism.

There is a certain irony in the fact that incidents such as the one involving the Annapoorna leader can overshadow some of the imagery that the BJP has built on the basis of its criticism of what Rahul Gandhi said about India during his recent visit to the US.

A business-friendly government doesn’t just speed up tax refunds, automate compliance processes, or eliminate unwanted regulations. It’s also a government that listens wholeheartedly, takes jokes in stride, and responds to criticism with disarming humor.

A promised red carpet cannot become a red flag for industrialists.

(The author is a veteran journalist and commentator who has worked for Reuters, Economic Times, Business Standard and Hindustan Times. He can be reached on Twitter @madversity. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are those of the author. The Quint (does not endorse or take responsibility for them.)