Manmohan Singh is caught in a crossfire between two distinguished men he handpicked to head the NKC - Sam Pitroda and PM Bhargava.
CHENNAI: This one will hurt Prime Minister Manmohan Singh really bad. He is caught in a crossfire between two distinguished men he handpicked to head the National Knowledge Commission (NKC), which was to guide India into a “strong and vibrant knowledge economy.” In two separate interviews to DNA, NKC chairman Sam Pitroda and vice-chairman PM Bhargava, an eminent biologist, expose the deep divide in the commission and perhaps its uncertain future.
While Bhargava seems unsure about any blueprint coming from the commission, Pitroda says he is submitting a report in a week.
Trading charges
Bhargava: The performance of the commission is by no means what it should have been. We are supposed to come out with a blueprint on India’s knowledge potential and the path ahead. As of now, we don’t even know if we will have a blueprint (when the NKC’s tenure ends in October, 2008).
Pitroda: I am surprised at his remarks. The commission will be presenting a report to the nation on January 12 in the presence of the PM on our accomplishments in 2006. There is no plan for a blueprint at the end of the term. As discussed and agreed with the PM, we are working on several subject areas.
Bhargava: Our chairman is a very competent person who is not here (not in the country). The commission meets once in three or four months, instead of every two weeks. We had our last meeting in May and I don’t know when the next one would be. The commission is my top priority, while for some other members it is not.
Pitroda: The commission was never designed to meet every two weeks. It is not a full-time paid government job. Like the finance commission, it meets once every two to three months. There are working groups and the secretariat for support. People (NKC members) like Nandan Nilekani, Ashok Ganguly, Deepak Nayyar, Jayati Ghosh and Bhargava have other primary responsibilities. I spend about four to five hours a day on the commission on phone, video, reading, meeting and learning.
First trouble
The first embarrassment to the government from the NKC, constituted on June 13, 2005, came when two of its members, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille, resigned on May 22, 2006, protesting Human Resources Minister Arjun Singh’s response to their opinions on the reservation issue. Bhargava and Ghosh were the only members who supported the government’s reservation policy.
The Pitroda-Bhargava spat appears to be the beginning of a bigger showdown. “The commission has sent many reports on higher education, vocational education, libraries and computerisation to the PM without my knowledge. This embarrasses me. I have conveyed my concerns to the PM and I am waiting for his response,” says Bhargava, who is the founder-director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad.
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