Round The States

New Delhi, 19 February 2022

Hijab &Tricolour Row

KARNATAKA POLITICS TO HILT

By Insaf

Karnataka has more on its plate than it can handle. In the midst of the raging hijab controversy, there is another, on the national flag. The opposition Congress has laid siege in Legislative Assembly demanding Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwarappa be sacked and booked for sedition for his statement. This after Eshwarappa last week said the ‘Bhagwadhwaj’ (saffron flag) may become national flag sometime in future and may be raised from Red Fort. Both minister and BJP government hit back saying his statement was ‘misconstrued’ and Congress was disrespecting the national flag for protests in the floor of House. Plus, Congress was ‘playing politics’ when ‘people/government are working towards creating a conducive atmosphere for students in schools and colleges.” Take it with a pinch of salt? While the court addresses the hijab row and addresses the question “If there are 100 symbols, why is the government picking on only hijab?…Bangles are worn. Why only pick on these poor Muslims girls?..” , the Dept of Minority Welfare, Haj and Wakf has issued a fresh circular. Quoting HC interim order it said it would apply to Maulana Azad Model English Medium schools too. Ruffling more feathers instead?

*                       *                       *                       *                       *           *                       *

Third Wave Over?

All is now well, is the Centre’s message to States. Minimise Covid-19 impact on “the lives and livelihood of people,” is its advice. A letter to Chief Secretaries on Wednesday last, by Union Health Secretary said: “Presently, as the case trajectory across the nation is showing a sustained downward trend, it will be useful if States review and amend/do away with the additional restrictions so imposed after considering the trend of new cases, active cases, and positivity,” so that people’s movement and economic activities are no longer hampered. Fortunately, the Omicron variant has been much milder and case counts have remained below expected levels, with daily numbers having dropped to 30,000-odd, the lowest this year from 3.47 lakh in January. Just about 75 districts are now reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 10% and 80 districts less than 5%.States are gradually easing restrictions on social gatherings, occupancy in restaurants/theatres, opening schools/colleges, lifting night curfews etc. However, there’s a nagging fear that complacency shouldn’t set in. Families and friends can’t forget the horrific second wave wherein people became victims not to the virus but governments letting down guard. Once bitten twice shy, is sound advice.

*                       *                       *                       *                       *           *                       *

Punjab Faux Pas

A classic case of putting one’s foot in the mouth? During a poll rally, closing on the campaigning, Congress Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi stirred a political storm by saying: “Punjabian di bahu hai Priyanka Gandhi, eh saadiPunjabanhai, isskarkeikk passe hojaoPunjabion… UP, Bihar aur Delhi de bhaiye aa keithe raj karanlagge, vadanna deo ithe (Priyanka is Punjab’s daughter-in-law. She is our Punjaban. So Punjabis, get united. The bhaiyas from UP, Bihar and Delhi want to rule here. But we will not let them enter).” Worse, it got an applaud from Priyanka! Obviously, BJP and AAP got their opportunity and slammed Channi saying it was an insult to the people of UP and Bihar. With Channi’s faux pax going viral on social and polling on Sunday, Congress went into damage control. In a video message, Channi said his statement ‘is being misconstrued. All migrant workers who came to Punjab till date, have toiled and taken it on the path to development. We have only love for them, nobody can change it.” Plus, he wasn’t referring to migrants, but to AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, ‘who come here and create disruption.’ The big question is whether the sizeable migrant community let it pass? To be sure the Congress, also put out a video message from former PM Manmohan Singh urging people to vote for the party and blaming the Centre for trying to “malign Punjab and Punjabis”. Will his magic work and undo the damage?

*                       *                       *                       *                       *           *                       *

Kerala Governor-CM Drama

Kerala has been spared a ‘constitutional’ crisis, on eve of Budget session. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had his way. He finally gave consent for his opening address to the Assembly on Friday last, but only after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with Chief Secretary in toe visited Raj Bhavan a day before to calm tempers. Khan was upset over a dissent note been issued while heeding to his request to appoint a veteran journalist and BJP State committee member as his additional personal assistant. The note said the appointment of a politician in Raj Bhavan was “unprecedented”  and “it was desirable to stick to norms.” Seeing it as an insult to  Governor’s office, he demanded the officer who issued the note, Principal Secretary, General Administration Dept, be removed and government stops the practice of ‘life-time pensions’ to personal staff of ministers, as it was “a waste of public money, only meant to groom party cadres.” The first demand was met and assurance given for the second. The drama is not the first. Interestingly the Opposition sees it as a ‘quid pro quo’ and not that Raj Bhavan and CM office are at logger heads. It claims Khan eventually gave assent to an ordinance, which would clip the Lokayukta’s powers, just a week before his personal assistance was appointed! The people, it says are being hoodwinked! 

*                       *                       *                       *                       *           *                       *

Reprieve For Haryana

It was well worth knocking on Supreme court’s door. The Khattargovernment got reprieve and now hopes “The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020”, may no longer face hurdles. On Tuesday last, the apex Court set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court order staying the law, which provides for 75% of private sector jobs for residents of the state. It said the HC hasn’t given ‘sufficient reasons for staying the legislation” and asked it decide within four weeks. Besides, it restrained the government from taking any action against employers under the law till then. The SC was approached by the government and argued that three other States-- Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhandhad similar laws and that the law was a means to regulate migrants from settling in other States. The apex court did  contemplate transferring pending matters to it, but said it would have to hear it on merits as the issue “is about livelihood and we are concerned about it”. Be that as it may, the Khattar government may be able to fulfil its poll promise. All eyes will now be on what reasoned order the State HC gives. 

*                       *                       *                       *                       *           *                       *

Lalu’s Freedom!

Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav may have to give up his dream. On Tuesday last, a CBI court in Ranchi convicted him in the fifth fodder scam case shattering his desire to return back to active politics and Parliament. The court is to pass an order on the quantum of his sentence on Monday and till then an ailing Lalu was sent to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi. Recall, Lalu was jailed in December 2017 following the Rs 950 crorescam and then shifted to RIMS after his health deteriorated in jail; admitted to AIIMS and set free May last after the Jharkhand High Court suspended his remaining jail term, because he had already served half the sentence. The BJP is elated and its leaders have reacted saying, ‘the verdict is the curse of the poor… is reaping what he had sowed’ and now that he is convicted in five cases ‘he can’t contest any election for even a Mukhiya!’ His son and leader of Opposition Tejashwiclaimed the verdict ‘hasn’t dampened the party’s morale, the order needs to be respected”. However, he wondered whether this was the only scam in the country. “There had been some 80-odd scams in Bihar. Has any action been taken against anyone? What about cases against some influential businessmen in the country?”, he said at a press conference. He needs to remember two wrongs don’t make a right! ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)

REWIND

New Delhi, 17 February, 2022

THE ASSAULT ON FEDERALISM

By B.K. Nehru

(Former Governor and Diplomat)

(Released on 6 February, 1990)

The Constitution of the Republic of India is federal; it is the union of the States that makes the Union of India. Most large countries and some not so large are federations; well-known examples are Canada, Australia, the United States, Brazil and the Federal Republic of Germany.

The essence of federalism is that the legislative and executive powers of the federal and State governments are clearly set out in the Constitution; neither has the right to go beyond the jurisdiction so determined. A federal structure in a democratic state implies that at various times there will be --- in most countries there are --- different parties in power at the Centre and the States. With Republican President of the United State today, for example, more than half the States of the Union are governed by Democratic Governors. The same difference of parties in power is true, and always has been true of all federations; it is seldom that all the States and the Federal government have governments of the same party.

The complaint of the States in India – and a legitimate complaint it is --- is that the Centre has gradually been encroaching upon the powers guaranteed to them by the Constitution and thus reducing their autonomy. From time to time, this feeling becomes acute and demands are made for more autonomy. The extreme case of this demand today is to be found in the Punjab where that demand is not only extreme but expressed in extreme form.

This tendency to encroach on the autonomy of the States is highly dangerous for the unity of India. This is because Indian nationalism does not as yet have that kind of overpowering loyalty among all the people of India as it does in smaller and more homogenous countries. India is a diverse country; its basic political unit, to which emotional loyalties are attached, is the linguistic group. This corresponds today to the boundaries of the States. (The only exception is the Hindi-speaking area; this is divided into States more for administrative than political reasons). Each State guards zealously that portion of its sovereignty which is ensured to it by the Constitution.

Any attempt by the Central Government to reduce it causes an anti-Centre feeling. In political terms, the Centre is synonymous with India; “India” is then seen to be attacking the “identity” of Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Punjab or whatever.  The Founding Fathers and the members of the State Reorganization Commission were wise enough to realize that if the political unity of India was to be maintained it could only be done by guaranteeing the autonomy of that political unit to which the people were genuinely and emotionally attached. Any going back on those guarantees would be dangerous for our unity. The attack on State autonomy reached a crescendo in 1977 when the Janata Government advised the President to dismiss the Governments and dissolve those Assemblies of the States where the Congress-I was in power on the ground that the federal elections had shown that those Governments no longer enjoyed the confidence of the electors. This advice was clearly unconstitutional; the only ground on which the President could take the action was if he was satisfied that the Government of the State could not be carried on under the Constitution (Art. 356); this condition was clearly not fulfilled.

The acting President, Mr. B.D. Jatti, succumbed to the threat of the Prime Minister, Mr. Morarji Desai, to resign if he did not accept this advice; a very unfortunate precedent was set by which the victory of one party in the federal elections gave the Centre the right not only to encroach on the autonomy of the State Governments but to abolish them altogether. The Supreme Court to which the issue was referred did not face it. Instead, it escaped by dismissing the case on technical grounds. The impression in the lay mind is, therefore, that such dismissal of the State Governments is Constitutional. As was to be expected, the Congress-I eagerly followed the precedent when it came to power in 1980.

This precedent inflicted an exceedingly serious wound, though not mortal one, on the autonomy of the States. That mortal would has now been inflicted by the Union Government advising the President (and the President accepting this wholly unconstitutional advice) to ask for the resignation of all the Governors of all the States. The present Home Minister is on record as saying that the Governors “represent” the Government of India, and, therefore, must be “in tune” with whatever party happens to be in power at the Centre.

This view of the role of the Governors has no Constitutional basis; all constitutional authorities are agreed (and the matter has been repeatedly dealt with by the Supreme Court, the last occasion being in Raghukul Tilak’s case) in holding that the Governor is in no sense either a representative of, or an agent of, or a subordinate of, the Government (or President) of India. The only occasion when the Governor becomes subordinate to the President is when the powers of the State Government “and Governor” are taken over by the President under Article 356. These are then given to the Governor to be exercised by him on behalf of the President as his agent.

The Governor represents not the Government of India but the State of which he is the Head. His oath of Office requires him not to look after the welfare of the people of India but “to devote (him) self to the service and well-being of the People of (his) State”.

It is true that the Governor is appointed by the President and holds office for five years subject to the pleasure of the President. But the question is what, in the spirit of the Constitution and of federalism and in law, “the pleasure of the President” means. This phrase was introduced into this Article because, unlike the President of India who can be removed by impeachment, there is no other provision in the Constitution by which a Governor who behaves in an outrageous manner can be removed. Obviously it was assumed that the reasons for which the pleasure of the President could be withdrawn would be similar to those which would justify a Presidential impeachment.

It could not possibly be the whim of the Government at the moment in power in Delhi for that would make nonsense of the whole institution of the office of the Governor. It is a pity that neither the Home Minister nor the President chose to ask the Attorney General of India (who is the highest legal advisory authority in the country) on the Constitutional validity of the action proposed to be taken. It would surprise me greatly if a man of Mr. Soli Sorabji’s known constitutional knowledge and unimpeachable integrity could possibly have held that the removal of the Governors was Constitutional simply because the Government at the Centre had changed.

The true function of the Governor is to represent not the Centre but the people of his state and to fight their battles with the Centre; not vice versa. He has to be “in tune” not with the party in power at the Centre for the time being but with his own people as represented by their elected representatives. He must necessarily, in giving advice to his Chief Minister and Cabinet, which is really his most important role, bear in mind the national interest --- which is not always coincidental with the interests of the party in power whether at the Centre or in the State. It is for this reason that it has been stressed repeatedly (and the latest authority is the Sarkaria Commission) that Governors should never be active politicians but men of eminence who can distance themselves from the eternal battle of party politics.

Where the office of the Governor has been abused by the appointment to it of active serving politicians, it would have been fitting for the President to have withdrawn his pleasure. But to ask for the resignation of all the Governors of all the States is to reduce that office to that of a party hack. Now that the precedent has been set that Governors hold office at the pleasure of the party in power at the Centre, the Governors becomes an agent of the Central Government. His function becomes, contrary to his oath of office, looking after the interests, not even of the Centre but of the party in power at the Centre. He becomes, in effect, an opponent of State autonomy.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Open Forum

New Delhi, 16 February 2022            

Electric Vehicles

IS THE SHIFT IMMINENT?

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

Electric vehicles are causing a buzz. Not only aren’t these being promoted to tackle the looming environmental crisis, but the consumer’s choice is slowly changing. The demand, be it four or two wheelers, is steadily picking up. From environmental perspective, the EVs are the future of the auto industry in India as in many other countries.

The thrust has been clearly noted in the recent Union Budget with the government policy of battery swapping expected to give a boost to the domestic EV industry, specially for public transport, as it will provide an affordable solution to the charging issue. Industry stakeholders said the policy will help develop the infrastructure needed to make EVs improve their use in public transport as also for general users.

In fact, the government’s EV policy ‘Scheme for Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of (Hybrid & Electric Vehicle in India’ has seen a big boost from Rs 800 crore to Rs 2908.28 crore in the budget for 2022-23. E-mobility is all set to get a major impetus with the announcement of a battery swapping policy with the provision of land for establishing charging stations at scale. The target obviously, would be to have more EVs on the road in the coming years.     

That India is destined to be a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles within the next five years was forecast by Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, stating that several countries no longer want to deal with China following the COVID-19 crisis. Gadkari asked Indian automotive companies to boost their EV technology and also to focus on finding alternatives to lithium-ion battery tech to help make India the next global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles. “I am confident that in five years, India will become the number one hub for manufacturing electric buses, cars and two-wheelers. There is also a blessing in disguise that a majority of countries are not interested in dealing with China anymore. So, now there is a huge potential for India,” he had pointed out at a webinar titled ‘India’s Electric Vehicle Roadmap Post COVID-19’.

So far China has been on top in terms of EV production globally by producing over 80 percent of all EVs. It has the fourth largest reserves of lithium in the world, hence giving it a monopoly in the lithium-ion cell market. Lithium-ion battery packs are currently used the most for powering from small electric two-wheelers to electric commercial vehicles.

It may be recalled that the government launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 in 2013 to enhance fuel security as also to address vehicular pollution through the promotion of hybrid and EVs. The government launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicle scheme under NEMMP, 2020 in 2015-16. The scheme was to make hybrid and EVs as the first choice for buyers instead of internal combustion engines and reduce liquid fossil fuel consumption in the country.

Since April, 2019, the outlay of the scheme (FAME-II) has been enhanced to Rs 100 billion for a period of three years, mainly to offer upfront incentive on the purchase of EVs and also to establish the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles. Though higher EV sales had not picked up initially, from early 2021 the trend is changing as a lot of manufacturers of four wheelers and two wheelers have entered the market.

Recently, the governments of Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Telangana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal invited the auto company Tesla to set up shop in their respective States. This open invitation was a response to company founder Elon Musk’s tweet that Tesla was “facing a lot of challenges” launching their EVs in the country. The enthusiasm with which the five States have rolled out the red carpet for Tesla isn’t surprising.  Estimates pegged the market opportunity for the electric vehicles sector in India to be worth approximately $206 billion by 2030. Despite contributing less than one per cent of all vehicle sales in the country, overall EV sales are rising with over 50,000 new registrations each month.

Governments are thus keen to set up shop and manufacture domestically. However, these companies would rather sell completely built units (CBU) made outside the country. Subsequently, Tesla, Audi and Hyundai have urged the Modi government to cut import duties and help bring down prices and generate demand for EVs in India.

However, the government remains unmoved and maintains the 100 per cent import duty on CBUs manufactured abroad. Instead, it has been pushing for greater localisation of EV manufacturing through multiple policy measures FAME-II. Additionally, it has launched several production linked incentive schemes for manufacturers in the automobile, components and advanced chemistry cell battery sector to develop indigenous supply chains for critical EV components. To boost sales, it has also launched several consumer-centric incentives such as tax exemptions, subsidies and interest subvention schemes, intended to trigger a mass demand for EVs.

For EVs production the most important raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are used to make lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells, are not available in the country. Consequently, Indian manufacturers must rely heavily on imports of battery cells from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan and assemble them into battery packs. Though there is optimism and encouraging response from investors under the PLI scheme to manufacture ACC batteries domestically, most bidders are expected to start manufacturing only from 2025. It is thus quite natural that India’s import-driven strategy, for domestic assembly of critical battery packs, will continue for a few more years.

Additionally, the manufacturing of electric motors and power electronics requires critical raw materials, deep technological expertise, and large capital investments to manufacture – all of which India lacks. Thus, import dependency has been the only option for domestic manufacturers to secure critical parts for EV assembly.

Besides, domestic EV manufacturers are exposed to increasingly volatile global supply chains and higher costs due to Covid-related disruptions and the US-China trade war. The prices of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide have risen by over 400 percent and 255 percent respectively since beginning of 2021. Similarly, prices of praseodymium and neodymium oxide, used to make magnets for electric motors, have almost doubled in the past 15-16 months. As a result, some manufacturers hiked prices of their EVs to counter the rise in raw material cost.

Some technical experts have suggested that electro-chemical energy in the form of metal air batteries could be the choice of the future, at least for India. Metal air batteries can match the driving range of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and reload full energy to full energy capacity in less than five minutes.

Significantly, much research has taken place on such batteries during the period 2014 to 2020. Unlike conventional batteries, metal air batteries utilise oxygen from the atmosphere at the cathode. These have higher energy density (energy per unit weight) compared with lithium batteries. Aluminum can be used as the anode of metal air batteries as the country has abundant bauxite deposits in the country. The road to progress is certain only if the Government does not put any brakes and aids the EV manufacturers to achieve its target.---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)

Political Diary

New Delhi, 15 February 2022

Polls Freebies Nautanki

PEOPLE’S MONEY, APNA MONEY, YAAR!

By Poonam I Kaushish

In the ongoing five States ‘Vote Me’ no-holds-barred-free-for-all electoral nautanki Parties are raining promises topped  by luscious lip-smacking freebies for everyone, from free electricity and water for the aam aadmi to farm loans waiver for the debt-ridden kisan to monthly payouts for women, elderly and unemployed. All to cream the electorate at the husting, thereby converting political sops into vote percentages!

Whereby, social and economic upliftment is weighed on the scales of vote-bank politics. Big deal if the financial implications of these run into thousands of crores of rupees further staining coffers already whimpering under heavy financial burdens. Silly me, forgetting in rajniti, public funds translate into netas spending our money!    

Leading the pack is none other than the BJP in UP which woos voters with two crore tablets and smartphones for students worth Rs 20,000 crores, two free cylinders every Holi and Diwali totaling Rs 4000 crores, free electricity for irrigation costing Rs 2000 crores, Samajwadi aces it to 300 units free electricity valued at Rs 17,500 crores, Rs 1500 to 25 lakh poor and women at Rs Rs 4500 crores, 22 lakh jobs, 33% job quota for women and free education for girls.

In Punjab Congress announces homemakers to get Rs 2000 per month and 8 LPG cylinders annually, 10^th pass girls Rs 15,000, free electricity to farmers, 11% hike in DA for Government employees and Rs 3 cut in power rate. In Uttarakhand it woos with 100 units free power, in Goa Rs 6000 to poor families, resumption of mining etc.

Aam Aadmi Party assures Rs 30,000 crores farm loans waiver, 300 units free power, Rs 1000 for every women in Punjab, Rs 3000 for unemployed in Goa alongside Griha Aadhar scheme for 20,000 women. The TMC ups it to Rs 5000 for women, Rs 4000 to fishermen, building 50,000 subsidized homes on Government land in Goa … an endless list. All merrily white-washing the huge debt burdens.

True, Parties are obliged to be seen as populist as it would be stupid to wish away symbolism and political lollipops to entice the electorate. But do our narcissist leaders need to act like modern-day feudal maharajas? Whereby, deprived with famished bellies and tattered clothes wait for hours for their mai-baaps to dole out money which doesn’t belong to them. Given the aam janata translate into just sterile statistics to keep the vote-bank tillers ringing. 

Questionably, where do they get monies to fund these doles? By taxing us, the people. Should our hard-earned tax money be used to boost Parties electoral vote-banks?  No. Shouldn’t leaders or their Parties pay for it from their pockets or funds? Absolutely. Should loans be waived? No.

Certainly it is nobody case that citizens should be ignored. However, the harsh truth is political promises in the economic sphere should not cross prudence limits, where it starts hurting the economy as a whole. Notwithstanding, assurances of loan waivers, cheap rice, free electricity can be justified on grounds of acute poverty, economic distress and unemployment.

Bluntly, we pay taxes for growth and development of the country, better educational institutions, health care, hospitals, infrastructure etc.  Not poll freebies which are just hot air and an invitation to disaster which will neither help enrich a citizen’s life nor provide roti kapada aur makaan. None sees the danger of economic derailment as the biggest losers are poor, weak and under-privileged in whose name these giveaways are justified.

Alas, sound economic sense has been surrendered to political gamesmanship as populist shenanigans yield better electoral rewards than reasoned issues and sustainable programmes. Also, given the economic logic that there is no such thing as a free lunch, a populist scheme is invariably paid for either in the form of higher taxes or increasing inflation.

Clearly, underscoring what ails India and its burgeoning poor is not poverty, which can be corrected, but our netagan’s ruthless heartlessness sans humility and empathy for the garib. Worse, it exposes their sheer ennui and paucity of ideas along-with accentuating their moral bankruptcy. And a perspective completely divorced from reality.

Consequently, they have consistently failed to evolve a strategy of development which would take into account our pluralism and fluctuating economic disparities. Moreover, by providing free candies to voters the masses have become dependent on politicians resulting in their inability to critically evaluate leaders leading to no true empowerment as people expect elected leaders to make good their promises.

Only to be disappointed given the level of dishonesty, populism and irresponsibility which governs our political system along-with a leech-infested environment of the uundata taking it all, our carpetbaggers refuse to let up.

Pertinently, last month the Supreme Court asked Election Commission to frame guidelines to stop Parties from promising “irrational freebies from public fund.” Referring to the Subramaniam Balaji vs Tamil Nadu Government case May 2013, it directed the Commission again to maintain a level playing field during elections. “Although it cannot be construed as ‘corrupt practice’, distribution of freebies shakes the root of free and fair elections and influences people,” it emphasized. Though  under Section 123 of Representation of People Act nothing barred Parties from promising voters freebies in their manifestos.

Undoubtedly, a code of governance and conduct of ethics is imperative to minimize the Executives’ unjustified misuse of tax-payers hard earned wealth. A code which makes it obligatory for Parties to inform EC where money will come from to implement their free giveaways and if they will raise taxes, reduce allocation for these programmes once in power.

Two, it would be beneficial for Parties to offer people permanent solutions to their problems in election manifestos instead of slew of seemingly advantageous, but temporary stop-gap measures. Three, the EC needs to penalize Parties who use the quick exploitative mechanism to win people’s votes.

Clearly, our polity needs to draw a distinction between welfarism and populism. Welfarism takes into account needs of different sections of society as a part of a large development framework. Populism is purely guided by vote-banks. Albeit, granting concessions which have no economic rationale and are not part of the larger economic planning, as enunciated by a Government.

Time our netagan realize economic reform and populism do not go hand in hand. Populism will only provide immediate succour at the future’s expense. It is no remedy for neglect of education, health, faulty priorities in industrialization and under-investment in rural areas. Instead, they need to concentrate on the big picture. Wherein, energies are channelized to address poverty through faster, broad-based growth, supported by well-functioning delivery mechanisms. The effort must be to reduce number of people in need of handouts.

The aam aadmi is no fool. Each populist slogan only accentuates his growing awareness whereby he could lose faith in politicians and the system of governance. Public accountability is indispensable in a democratic set-up. Parties cannot afford to promise doles of hard earned tax-payers money on private populist whims. The time to draw a ‘lakshman rekha’ on vote-bank politics as democracy cannot allow exercise of public funds as private spending. What says you? ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)