For P Chidambaram, shifting from his office as finance minister in the North Block to his new office as home minister in the same complex may involve a relocation of just a few metres, but it?s a whole world away in terms of the issues he will have to deal with.
Yet, Chidambaram is no stranger to the home portfolio and his tough, no-nonsense approach seen repeatedly in the finance ministry should help tighten the country?s internal security situation.
As the FM, Chidambaram has taken a number of far-sighted policy measures and strengthened tax enforcement dramatically, but most importantly he has stuck to his ground on tough decisions _ in the face of staunch criticism from the Opposition parties and sometimes, his own colleagues. The alacrity with which Chidambaram has reacted to emergent economic situations should also bode well for his home ministry innings.
?Chidambaram?s common sense and capability as a lawyer qualify him for being home minister. The respect he commands in the Cabinet and the country, as not just another useless run of the mill politician (of which there are too many in the Cabinet already), but an accomplished senior statesman, will stand him in good stead,? said Percy Mistry, chairman of Oxford International, who headed the panel on making Mumbai an international financial centre.
Chidambaram?s understanding of complex financial issues will help the government?s efforts in curbing terror financing. His pro-active moves to prevent tax evasion may not be as simple to replicate in Home matters, but are important indicators of his bold approach to enforcing the law. Most recently, he approved a third party system of information gathering for indirect taxes, on the lines of the Annual Information Returns for direct taxes.
New taxes such as the fringe benefit tax, the banking cash transaction tax and most recently, the commodities transaction tax did not make the FM very popular, but proved very useful. For instance, the BCTT, introduced in 2005, to keep a tab on suspicious cash transactions in the country, has delivered results for the tax department as well as the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
?He has a tendency to be hyperactive and excessively interventionist in decisions that should be taken by others: e.g. his relentless stream of prescriptions about what interests rates should be (which is the job of the RBI Governor), what prices should be (which is the task of markets, producers and consumers) or what the actions of bank CMDs should be (which is the task of Bank Boards). However, in the home ministry, those characteristics might turn out to be strengths not weaknesses,? Mistry points out. In his new role, Chidambaram?s task is clearly cut out?unleash an appropriate response for the perpetrators of the audacious attacks in Mumbai and restoring faith in the country?s security establishment. Results may not be instant and expectations may be high, but once he settles in, the new home minister can be expected to deliver.