Within hours after Mumbai-based fleet owning, the second generation transporter Ashok Goyal of BLR Logistics tweeted questioning the stone-deaf silence of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre by not listening to their genuine grievances, the Prime Minister was in confabulation with the transport lobby group: the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and the All India Transporters' Welfare Association (AITWA). Coincidence? Sheer luck? Whatever. A moment to cherish for transport fraternity.
A small clarification. This was not an exclusive gathering between these two lobby groups and the Chief Executive of the Republic of India. They were part of various stakeholders invited by the Logistics Division in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry government to discuss ways and means to achieve the US$400bn export target this fiscal (before March 31, 2022).
Obviously, the task of cutting logistics cost hinges to an extent on transport vertical. Therefore, the invite. Products can be manufactured for export. Ships may sail from ports for far off destinations. But these forex-fetching products have to be carted to the ports. Rail is certainly a possibility. But limited in scope. Road Transport, for long or short or first mile or last mile, is inevitable. There lies the rationale behind the invite to transport bodies.
Punch pleased, they would have been. Recognition is a big thing for anyone. Particularly, those who feel they have been alienated or sidelined for long.
Both were in their respective dens: Delhi for AIMTC and Mumbai for AITWA and the interaction was via video-conferencing. Remote interaction, courtesy Covid.
Had this PM interaction with stakeholders been arranged well in advance and, notably, in the pre-Covid era, will these two groups have sat together in a single venue? I doubt.
A bit of history worth recalling...
AIMTC has a long history, dating back to its origin in the Pre-Independence era when transporters gathered on the Mall Road in Simla, Himachal, the summer capital for Her Majesty's babus managing India to represent their case to the authorities. The body was created on the spot because the British babu refused to entertain them individually and asked them to "represent collectively". AITWA, on the other hand, is an offshoot of AIMTC, born several decades later to include several stakeholders in the transport segment whose interests, it felt, were not articulated and taken up for discussion with policymakers.
By the by, AITWA members are also AIMTC members, the Big Brother. They are not on the same page in many areas and therefore, lacks coordination in their dealings with the mandarins in the Indian bureaucracy at the Federal level.
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Their number is in the millions. So a huge target group. Stakeholders engage in perfunctory health checks via periodic camps. The seriousness of drivers' health by the interested parties can be gauged from the fact 99% of the trucks carry no First Aid Box, though it is a punishable offense under the CMVR norms! Who cares! .....
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Indian babus learned one big lesson from their British master tutors. Divide and rule. Taking advantage of the AIMTC-AITWA difference in their approach to problem-solving, the govt plays and challenges are seldom addressed. One key differentiator between these two: AIMTC does not rule out chakka jam/work stoppage during every President's term to highlight their concerns. AITWA is on the opposite side. It abhors strikes and prefers discussions over disruption.
The laundry list of transport segment woes is long. Highways and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the line minister, has rebuffed the transport lobby through his non-interaction with them throughout Covid. However, he had ample time for various other stakeholders. That's the clear message that he has no love lost for the transport fraternity. Why? Worth pondering.
Is the multiplicity of lobby groups a disadvantage? It ought not to be. Look at the industry lobby groups: FICCI, Assocham, and CII at the national level. These lobbyists are never at loggerheads with each other - openly or otherwise. Perhaps this has got to do with their organizational setup. Professionals, not industrialists/businessmen members, "run" these organizations. The transport lobby groups offer a different glimpse.
"Unity is strength" is the slogan transporters mouth quite often. Do they practice? No. Their common target: the government from the policy perspective. If they can present a combined front and approach the government as a single body with well-documented data, will they be heard? It is worth considering.
Keeping the General Elections 2024, political parties, pursuing diverse ideologies, are confabulating a joint Opposition. Prashant Kishor, the independent political strategy with a track record in helping Modi in 2014 and Mamata Banerjee this year to win the political battle, is again on center stage.
He may be the glue to "unite" the Opposition and that will be a formidable political battle vis-a-vis the Modi government in 2024.
Well, is there a Prashant Kishor lurking to unite the transport lobby groups: especially AIMTC and AITWA, and ensure the likes of Gadkari begin to display some "respect" and "listen" to them directly?
"Yes, that would be a welcome step!," concedes Ashok Goyal.
