Developing National Consensus on Critical Issues a talk with Mr Manish Tewari & Dr. Chandan Mitra

A very interesting and thought provoking session on "How to develop National Consensus on Critical National Issues" was held on 10 May 2010 at the VIF.The two speakers were Mr Manish Tewari, the articulate Member of Parliament from the Indian National Congress (Party spokesperson) and Dr. Chandan Mitra, former Member of the Rajya Sabha , Editor and Managing Director Pioneer and member of National Executive of BJP. Mr Mitra highlighted the need for consensus building in three primary areas - National Security, Foreign Policy and Macro-Economic Issues. He felt that the structure of Indian politics had become bipolar. The two main national parties must devise mechanisms for consensus building in these key areas. Ideological differences however would remain. Manish Tewari of the Congress presented the contra argument. He felt that the essence of democracy was plurality of opinion. It went beyond listening to a dogged majority but allowed space for a creative minority. That said, he felt there is a congruence on major national issues even though we may quibble on issues of tactics/ execution.