“As a politician, P.V. Narasimha Rao was closer to Machiavelli and Chanakya. He believed ends justified the means. He was a philosopher-king and was academically inclined,” said Vinay Sitapati, author, Half - Lion: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Transformed India , at a discussion about the book at the Madras School Of Economics on Friday.
Terming Rao a “pragmatist politician who was a protectionist at heart”, Mr. Sitapati said that he was someone who learnt from his failure. “He successfully implemented the economic policies of Manmohan Singh even though his own party and the opposition parties were against it. Every Indian must thank Rao when they make a call on their mobile phone.
A lot of Prime Ministers in the 1990s after him tried and failed to do the same,” he contended.
The event also saw a panel discussion involving Mr. Sitapati and former National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, which was moderated by Praveen Chakravarty.
