An unprovoked 19-minute tirade by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday, in which he claimed that Indian industry’s business practises were against national interests, has left India Inc CEOs perplexed, with Mr. Goyal repeatedly singling out the 153-year-old Tata group in comments that he said came straight from his heart.
After the Minister’s remarks at the Confederation of India Industry’s annual meeting sparked a hornet’s nest in higher levels of government, the CII was asked to remove the video from its YouTube channel. On Thursday night, an edited version was uploaded, but it was also blocked by Friday evening.
Mr. Goyal expressed deep anguish that Tata Sons’ president for infrastructure, defence, and aerospace, Banmali Agrawala, had opposed rules framed by his Ministry to help consumers. “Me, Myself, My Company — We all need to go beyond this approach,” Mr. Goyal, who is also in charge of the Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ministries, said.
“Kya aapke jaisi company, aapne shaayad koi videshi company kharid li… Desh hith kam ho gaya, uska importance zyaada ho gaya? (A company like yours, perhaps you purchased one or two foreign companies, and their importance now outweighs national interest?) Mr. Goyal added that he had conveyed the same message to “Chandra” (Tata group chairman N. Chandrasekharan).
The Tata group did not respond to the Minister’s remarks. At the time of publication, no response had been received from the CII. Mr. Goyal’s remarks have been recorded, according to The Hindu.
While government officials communicating their priorities to business leaders is not uncommon, Thursday’s episode may be unprecedented in that specific attendees were questioned about their business practises with allegations that they were not acting in the national interest.
Mr. Goyal’s remarks, indicating a troubling lack of faith, came just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured industry of his full support and urged them to take more risks and invest in the country.
