Bidding farewell to Parliament, two-time Telugu Desham Party MP Jayadev Galla, on Monday, during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, said that he is quitting politics and will not contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha election, underlining the “weaponisation” of government agencies. He added that as a businessman, it is not easy to sail on two boats.
Mr. Galla spoke at length about the problems facing business houses. One has to get more than 70 approvals from various agencies to start and run a business in India. And each of these agencies, he said, can be “weaponised” by the party in power. This, he said, is detrimental to the Make-in-India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. It defeats the very objective of ease of doing business.
“I have decided not to contest in this general election. I come from a family that has a legacy of fighting for people but it is not easy to sail on two boats in one go - to be in public life and also to continue as an entrepreneur. So I have decided to give a pause to my political life,” he said. At the same time, he added that he will continue to contribute to the development of the country by “investing, innovating, creating employment opportunities and generating revenue and wealth for the nation”.
The 57-year-old Mr. Galla heads the Amara Raja Group which has a net worth of ₹5,300 crores and manufactures batteries under the Amaron brand name. He had announced his retirement from politics for the first time on January 28 citing that he needed to focus on his family and business affairs. He had also alleged that he was facing retribution from the investigating agencies for his views.
“In the developed world, business people are encouraged to be part of the political administration as they can play an important part in helping people take charge of their economic destinies. Unfortunately, in our country, this means constant fear of reprisals and vendettas,” Mr. Galla said.
“To start and run a business, one has to get more than 70 approvals from various agencies and each of these agencies can be weaponised by the party in power which is detrimental to the Make in India initiative and the Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan, and defeats the very objective of ease of doing business,” he said.
Mr. Galla asserted that he is still supporting the farmers’ agitation going on for more than 1,500 days for making Amaravati the State’s sole capital.
In his parting shot, Mr. Galla, also complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Even though we are not part of the National Democratic Alliance, I cannot resist my temptation to praise the government under the stewardship of Modiji over the last 10 years, how he has taken this country to new heights. We are on the verge of becoming the third largest economy in the world. It is not just governance, but it is the leadership that counts,” he said.
