Shiban Khaibri
” A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on its own wings ; always believe in yourself….”
The question is , and of a very serious nature but only for those who love intrinsically this great country , as to if a race , a competition and a vying between different political parties of the country for winning elections intensifies by offering more and more as also varied freebies, concessions, largesse and subsidies to voters , where shall the economy of the country ultimately go. How , on the other hand, you keep on motivating more and more honest people to pay more taxes when the tax payers know how their hard earned money is generally squandered by some politicians on granting free power , free drinking water, free bus ride, free train travel, free education, free ration, loan waver schemes and the list is unending .
What shall be the cumulative or a multiplier effect of such a suicidal political policy which pathetically blindly is knowingly unconcerned about the inalienable part of what elementary economics teaches us. Barring those sections which actually have nothing to fall back upon for their minimum reasonable sustenance and who require certain concessions but up to a certain limit of the time, all others offered such munificence and liberalities is tantamount to committing political immorality and an economic offence with far reaching consequences. It also means bribing the voters and indulging in sheer political expediency with only intent to seeking vote support which decidedly otherwise would have not been forthcoming.
We remember the first ever nationwide farm loan waiver was implemented by Janta Party Government in India led by the then Prime Minister V.P. Singh costing thousands of crores of Rupees to the already exasperated public exchequer and encouraging farmers to reduce productive investments and spend more on consumption . It is the other way too and that is, those farmers who have sufficient capacity to repay bank loans develop a tendency not to repay and those who had already paid during the period of ”reckoning” were lamenting why they paid but they too were compensated for their ”honesty” and accordingly , reimbursed the money they had already repaid. Still, Singh’s Government fell unceremoniously since the BJP withdrew its support and contrary to his expectations , he lost the confidence vote hence tendering resignation in November 1990 thus not completing even a full year in office.
It may be recalled that the same VP Singh had termed the frenzied mobs of hundreds of thousands storming streets of Srinagar in 1990 with pro- Aazadi and anti national agenda and with communal cum fundamentalist provocative threatening slogans , as protests akin to the ones ”frequently taking place in our Jantar Mantar and at Boat Club” and when selective targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits were in full unhindered manner and their forced exodus from their valley of Kashmir was shockingly almost complete . It was , again , during his tenure as this country’s PM when scores of hardened terrorists were released from Srinagar Jail, among them being hard core Pakistani terrorists as well, in exchange for releasing an abducted Kashmiri Doctor who happened to be the daughter of a top political leader . That greatly demoralised the Jammu and Kashmir Police. While Singh was ignorant of, indifferent to and least concerned about, what in Kashmir was going on against the original inhabitants – the Kashmiri Pandits- , yet he lost no time, as basically being a hard core Congress(i) ” secular” leader, in opposing Ram Rath Yatra and issuing arrest warrant against L.K. Advani which not only cost him his Government but even losing miserably again in 1991 elections and finally retiring from active politics in 1996, while he passed away 13 years later.
We have a strong exponent, rather an ardent propounder of announcing freebies to primarily win elections and to continue enjoying the soothing warmth of power, in Kejriwal who being the Chief Minister of Delhi has done it there , no wonder for the third term , going by the numbers as is the principle of Democracy. He says , now , after the most successful “expedition ” of Punjab that he is the ”follower ” of the great martyr Bhagat Singh but since the reverend revolutionary of the Indian Independence movement was a political thinker too, greatly influenced by the Marxian political thought, had read besides Karl Marx , socialist leaders like Valadimir Lenin , Leon Trotsky etc , had his own definition and interpretation of Anarchism. In young age his articles on Anarchism were regularly published in a Punjabi periodical ”Kirti”. Wrote he, “the ultimate goal of anarchism is complete independence , where nobody will be crazy for any worldly desires ……” However, in this connection, please recall when as Delhi’s CM, Kejriwal had in January 2014 defied police orders urging Delhites to join him and his team in a 10 day protest at Rail Bhawan very close to the residence of the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the President , saying , “Yes- I am an anarchist, I will create anarchy for Sushil Kumar Shinde…” and would not wait for the enquiry report in connection with the three Police Officers against whom a procedural enquiry had been instituted by the Union Home Ministry led by Shinde. However, in which respects and on high principles of the great revolutionary , even on anarchism, Kejriwal claims to be his follower, is not known.
Now, see his antagonism of beliefs in that the Head of “the most honest among all political outfits ever since independence” announced slew of freebies to and rolled out a populist agenda for Punjab before the recent polls and during poll campaign. Among those top the one of free electricity round the clock supply to all consumers , Rs.1000 every month to every woman above the age of 18 and other concessions and freebies. Not only that, he has promised ”ample employment opportunities ” for the youth so much so that they no longer need to go to foreign countries for earning a livelihood by ”spending lakhs of Rupees”.
Not only that, his economic model for employment for the youth will be so much attractive that even those Punjabi youth who are already comfortable abroad presently, shall leave their ”Dollar dreams” and return to Kejriwal’s new prosperous Punjab to reap the fruits of his employment model. Such an economic model , on the face of it, loaded with doing such ”wonders” shall be embraced by not only other states of the country but even by most of the advanced countries of the world. He must have done all the basic homework of calculations of how much funds were needed and the ”hidden ” sources or the treasures to be tapped but that he revealed only after March 10 through the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and that is the Central Government. “Give Punjab Rs.50000 crores aid every year”, is the key to do wonders by Kejriwal’s party in Punjab. Incredible , indeed.
Though the demand initially is for two years, why it cannot be extended to the full term of AAP Government to regain power in Punjab in 2027 , is the moot question . Therefore, the central government has to pay the bill for Kejriwal’s poll promises or be ready to get all the blame on the earth for ”not allowing Kejriwal to work in Punjab” as well and not wishing Punjab to prosper. Did it dawn upon you, M/s Kejriwal and Mann after the polls only that Punjab owed Rs. 3 lakh crore as debt and despite that, you offered slew of freebies to people , why did you not plainly tell Punjabis ..”Subject to footing the entire bill by Modi Government”. You say you are follower of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, how?
How many crores of Rupees have been spent by Kejriwal and his Government on advertisements both electronic and print on the “achievements of his Government” periodically must be made public and why not austerity measures adopted by the most honest and simple living politician of the country by doing the same through “You Tube” like he suggested mockingly but shockingly for Kashmir Files to a demand to make it tax free in the capital , must be clarified by him. It may be noted that , now, Kejriwal plans to try his political fortunes by repeating a Delhi or Punjab in Jammu and Kashmir also since the Assembly elections to the UT can take place after some time and reportedly “several prominent faces including some former Ministers and legislators ” in the UT are likely to join AAP during the visit of Kejriwal to Jammu where he is slated to address a public rally.
Freebies, handsels, gifts, largesse, lavish subsidies, indefinite tax holidays, loan waivers are nothing but shaming our democracy as it is plain bribery of gullible voters by some politicians at the cost of enterprise, hard work, productivity, self reliance, self esteem, principle of equity and parity. Since such politicians cannot perform and deliver, cannot meet challenges and address economic problems, disparities, inflation, unemployment etc, they employ such uneconomic tactics. We must draw the lessons from what happened to one of the most prosperous countries known as Venezuela due to encouraging freebies, tax holidays, concessions, waivers of dues to the government from public, going nowhere excepting oil production, following flawed and defective economic policies , denying the existence of grave problems which gradually created all the economic mess and hell resulting in 2016 an inflation of up to 800%, the highest in history. Shortages, drop in oil production, massive corruption, massive unemployment, disease , heavily dependent up to 80 % imports for its food requirement, massive public unrest, riots , killings and what not virtually destroyed the wealthy Venezuela . Why should, therefore, Central Government be obliged to give aid of Rs. 50000 crore to Punjab as demanded by AAP government and not to Bihar, HP, North Eastern States, UP, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir and other needy states? If this vicious circle continues, where shall the country’s economy ultimately land up with?
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