{"id":153960,"date":"2021-03-23T01:58:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T20:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=153960"},"modified":"2021-03-23T01:58:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T20:28:36","slug":"govt-money-is-netas-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2021\/03\/23\/govt-money-is-netas-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt money is neta’s money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Its Raining Populist Freebies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\nBy Poonam I Kaushish<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a perfect electoral cake rolled out by various Parties to the strains of \u2018Vote For Me.\u2019 Iced with luscious lip-smacking freebies galore for one and all. From the aam aadmi-debt-ridden kisan- top tax payer. To cream the electorate at the husting.
\nWherein sound economic sense has been surrendered to political gamesmanship with reckless promises made by Parties on the assumption that populist pledges yield better electoral rewards than reasoned issues and sustainable programmes. Who cares? After all, promises are just promises. And Government money is nobody\u2019s money!
\nWitness how our netagan are raining populist schemes and loan waivers in five poll-bound States merrily converting political sops into vote percentages wherein social and economic upliftment is weighed on vote-bank political scales.
\nLeading the pack is BJP who woos voters with ushering in \u2018Sonar Bangla\u2019 via Rs 1 kg rice and wheat, Rs 5 meals at Annapurna canteen, Rs 4000 annually to landless farmers, 33% women reservation in Government jobs, Rs 18,000 to 75 lakh farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, free education for girls from KG to PG, implementation of the CAA etc.
\nNot far behind TMC\u2019s Mamata Didi wows to create five lakh jobs within a year, free ration at doorstep, Rs 500 per month to economically weak, Rs 1,000 widow pension scheme and Rs 10 lakh student credit card scheme sans collateral if elected again.
\nIn Tamil Nadu both Dravidian Parties are not only enticing voters with gold, TVs, fridges, microwaves but as this alone won\u2019t do, the ruling AIDMK is offering one Government job to every family, 6 free LPG cylinders, \u2018Amma\u2019 homes for all, \u2018Amma\u2019 washing machines and solar gas stoves for every family
\nRival DMK in its voluminous 505 Sonnathai Seivom, Seivathai Solvom ( \u2018We do what we say; We say what we do\u2019) promises to start Kalaignar Canteens in 500 places, give poor subsidized food, Rs 24,000 to pregnant women, waive all farm and jewellery loans of small and medium farmers, Rs 10,000 subsidy to farmers for buying electric motors, increase paddy support price to Rs 2500 from Rs 2000 per quintal, 2 lakh new houses for fishermen et al.
\nThe Congress gripped by the Kal Ho Naa Ho syndrome is busy licking wounds with a put-on brave face humming Lead Kindly Light as Rahul-Priyanka serenade Assam with 5 lakh Government jobs, monthly income of Rs 2,000 to housewives, 200 free electricity units, Rs 365 daily wage for tea garden workers and nullifying CAA.
\nIn Kerala the ruling LDF up\u2019s monthly welfare pension from Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,500 for 60 lakh people, 40 lakh new employment opportunities, welfare schemes for taxi, autorickshaw drivers, coir-agriculture-cashew workers and toddy tappers, 50% farm wages hike. The Congress-led UDF assures Rs 2,000 monthly pension for homemakers, five lakh homes for poor, no hospitals bills and free food kits to the Covid 19 affected.
\nUndeniably, populism is not a new phenomenon and election 2021 is no different from previous polls. In the last over 60 years this \u2018catch-all\u2019 politics has reared its ugly head in various forms. The ball was set rolling by the DMK in Tamil Nadu in 1967 when it guaranteed rice at Rs 1. In Andhra TDP\u2019s Telgu bidda NTR Rama Rao followed suit by promising rice at Rs 2 per kg in 1983 and made it into a symbol of victory. Then came the disastrous 80\u2019s \u201cloan melas\u201d followed by colour TVs, fans, sewing machines, saris to voters era.
\nCongress\u2019s Indira Gandhi heralded political one-upmanship via slogans: \u2018Garibi Hatao\u2019 in 1971, BJP followed with \u2018Mandir\u2019 and VP Singh Mandal. Which made way for Narasimha Rao\u2019s economic giveaways \u201croti, kaprah aur makan\u201d and Sonia\u2019s \u201cCongress ka haath aam aadmi ke saath.\u201d The ruling BJP tweaked this to promising \u2018Achche Din\u2019 in 2014 and Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas in 2019.
\nIn subsequent years bereft of anything new to offer the aam aadmi Parties once again repackaged the old. Kejriwal\u2019s AAP fine-tuned BJP\u2019s bijli, paani, sadak by appending paisa to woo Delhi\u2019s poor. The Saffron Sangh offered women Ujwala scheme, toilets, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
\nIt can be argued Parties are obliged to be seen as populist in the no-holds-barred free-for-all electoral race, as it would be stupid to wish away political lollipops to entice voters. Raising a moot point: Where do they get monies to fund these doles? Obviously, by taxing us, the people.
\nTrue, assurances of cheap rice, wheat or free electricity can be justified. Aren\u2019t such concessions imperative in a country where 70% people live below the poverty line, hungry stomachs feed on enticing neon lights of fast food, rummage in garbage bins for rat-infested left-overs\u2019 and 600 million earn less than Rs 30 a day. Is it not our leaders\u2019 duty to take care of citizens?
\nCertainly, but at the same time one should never mistake political rhetoric for reality. Politicians of all hues cry hoarse for \u201ca better deal for the poor.\u201d Those who ask for water have been given watershed management programmes. Those who want naukri have been handed NREGA. Debt-laden farmers have got loan waivers. More trees, not coveted mangoes!
\nHowever, given the level of dishonesty, populism and irresponsibility which increasingly governs our political system, the measures announced are invitation to disaster. Bluntly, political promises in the economic sphere should not cross prudence limits, where it starts hurting the economy. None sees the danger of economic derailment as the biggest losers are the poor in whose name freebies are justified.
\nBy providing free candies to voters, citizens have become dependent on netas resulting in no empowerment. Consequently, people are unable to critically evaluate leaders. Also, given the economic logic there are no free lunches, a populist scheme is invariably paid for either by higher taxes or increased inflation. Precisely, what the new State Governments would have to do.
\nPertinently, in 2013 Subramaniam Balaji vs Tamil Nadu Government case the Supreme Court directed Election Commission to frame guidelines to restrain Parties from promising freebies to maintain a level playing field as \u201cit shakes the root of free elections to a large degree.\u201d Section 123 of the RPA bars Parties from promising freebies in their manifestos.
\nWhat next? One, make it obligatory for Parties to inform EC where they will get monies to implement free giveaway once elected. Will they raise taxes or reduce allocation for programmes? Two, Parties should offer permanent solutions instead of seemingly advantageous, but temporary stop-gap measures. Three, EC should penalize Parties who use quick exploitative mechanism to win votes.
\nClearly, leaders must draw a distinction between welfarism and populism. Welfarism takes needs of different sections of society as part of a large development framework. Populism is purely guided by vote-banks, granting concessions which have no economic rationale or are part of larger Governmental economic planning.
\nUnfortunately, our polity has been unable to perceive reality and consistently failed to evolve a development strategy. Forgetting populism provides immediate succour at the future\u2019s expense. It is no remedy for education and health neglect, faulty industrialization and under-investment in rural areas.
\nThe aam aadmi is no fool. Each populist slogan only accentuates his growing awareness. The real significance of any electoral battle is that unless the problem of poverty is substantially resolved, fake promise will continue to entice voters whereby it could endanger our democracy. Time to draw a \u2018lakshman rekha\u2019 on vote-bank politics. \u2014 INFA<\/p>\n

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Its Raining Populist Freebies By Poonam I Kaushish It is a perfect electoral cake rolled out by various Parties to the strains of \u2018Vote For Me.\u2019 Iced with luscious lip-smacking freebies galore for one and all. From the aam aadmi-debt-ridden kisan- top tax payer. To cream the electorate at the husting. Wherein sound economic sense […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-153960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153960\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}