Mr Manmohan Singh’s support to Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on the question of acquisition of farmland in Singur for the proposed small car project was not unexpected. After all, the prime minister is the original reformer of the Indian economy. If the Marxist chief minister of West Bengal is today following in his footsteps, Mr Singh can only feel vindicated. But the Congress’s dilemma about how to respond to the controversy over the Singur project highlights a recent trend in Indian politics. The fragmentation of the polity forces a party to wear different caps in different states. In states where it is the ruling party, the Congress pursues policies which it opposes in other states where it is in the opposition. Such doublespeak is sought to be justified in the name of compulsions of state-level politics. Thus, as an opposition party in West Bengal, the Congress feels that it has a political obligation to oppose the policies of Mr Bhattacharjee’s government. But, given the party’s commitment to economic reforms, its prevarications over issues such as the Singur project border on self-deception. The Congress may not be the only party that is afflicted by the malaise. Even Mr Bhattacharjee’s own party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), is in the habit of running with the hare and hunting with the hound. But as the original party of reforms, the Congress cannot afford to be seen as opposing reformist, pro-industry policies of even its political opponents.

Economic policies cannot be state-specific. There cannot be one set of laws for special economic zones or for labour reforms that would be acceptable in one state but not in another. If the Congress is committed to the growth of new industries, even if it is at the expense of agriculture, it cannot oppose it in Bengal or even in a state ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is possible that the specific conditions of a state will determine how the policies will be implemented there. But this should have nothing to do with the politics of power prevailing in the state at any given time. Ultimately, the economic debate over the Singur project is not whether it is forcing some farmers out of their land. The real question is how to make the best economic use of land or how land can be best utilized to create wealth. But dismal politics is no help in such debates.