R.K. Sinha
Now the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be announced soon. All political parties have also started finalizing their election strategy and names of candidates. Along with this, let us assume that apart from wooing the people, attracting them and bringing them stars from the sky, all the political parties will also promise to give everything for free. There will be a promise of giving free rewadis in the manifestos. The party or coalition that forms the government will also start some work to fulfill its promises. To what extent is it appropriate in any democracy to provide free electricity, water, grains and other things? Obviously, due to distribution of money to win elections, many states have been burdened with heavy taxes and debt.
Electoral freebies in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections is not a new trend and this trend has been hotly debated for decades. Many voices are heard in opposition to this, but nothing happens. This is really a very regrettable situation. The cycle of promises of distribution of cash and then implementation continues. However, the realization remains that the cost of these schemes will ultimately have to be borne by the voters, especially the tax payers, often in the form of higher taxes or cesses. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had raised the issue of giving free rabri in an election rally in Telangana Assembly last year. He had said that many states ignored their financial condition and promised to distribute free Revadis. He had clearly said, “False promises are being made to the public.” Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had also expressed serious concern over the practice of distributing free ‘Revdis’.
Some time ago, after inaugurating the four-lane Bundelkhand Expressway in Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address, had taken a dig at those political parties who promise to distribute free newspapers in order to get votes. . Without naming any party, Modi ji had said, ‘We have to remove Revadi culture from the country. Those distributing rewari can never get development works like construction of road network, rail network etc. They cannot build hospitals, schools and houses for the poor.
Of course, Rewari culture will prove fatal for the coming generations. This is a culture that gives birth to evil. Many of my colleagues tell me about the facility of free travel provided to women in DTC buses in the capital Delhi. According to him, women who are talking on expensive mobile phones are also getting the benefit of free travel. They don’t even need such facilities. According to an estimate, DTC loses up to Rs 15 crore every year by providing free travel facility to half the world in Arvind Kejriwal’s DTC buses. This amount can be used on the infrastructure of Delhi. Then no one even demanded free DTC travel from Kejriwal. Now that Lok Sabha elections are about to come, Arvind Kejriwal has left a new cave. Arvind Kejriwal is saying that if AAP and Congress candidates get all the seven seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, then he will waive off everyone’s water bill within 15 days of winning the elections. Now tell what is the meaning of making such promises or distributing money. While promising to waive water bills, Kejriwal has forgotten that lakhs of people in the capital Delhi still have to survive by purchasing pure and impure water from private tankers. In Delhi, people are killed for water during the summer season. Leave aside the slums, even in posh areas there is no clean water 24 hours a day.
It is regrettable that in our country it has become normal to distribute “freebies” before elections. As a rule, leaders should tell the public about their long-term and short-term plans in election meetingsBut they shamelessly keep making or pretending to promise free water, electricity, ration, food, TV, laptop, tablet, bicycle, scooter and gas cylinder as a shortcut to woo voters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls giving lots of free things to his voters as “Rewri culture”. He often uses this phrase in his public speeches to attack previous governments that failed to meet basic needs. Many economists have also warned against the dangerous trend of ‘buying people’ by distributing free gifts. But most of the leaders and political parties are almost indifferent to all these concerns.
It is important to look at the cost of election promises and how they impact the economic health of a state.
In fact, the exact fiscal impact of the election-time promises can be felt only after about 12-18 months of government formation, unless the schemes are fully implemented. One thing is clear that various parties cannot be stopped from making election promises. They will definitely make those promises in their manifestos. Even in election meetings, leaders and their associates will continue to make promises. But the most ideal situation would be when small and big parties decide that they will not promise to distribute free Panjris to their voters. The Election Commission will also have to end this rabid culture by making a law. This “refugee culture” is ultimately fatal for the voters too. They will also have to avoid this tendency. They should pay maximum attention to the important questions like education, health, employment in the country. Will give. Can’t a consensus be reached on these issues among all parties? Elections keep coming and going, but political parties will have to create a healthy culture in the country. At this time, a big challenge before the country should be to increase the number of tax paying citizens. Even now a very small part of the country pays taxes. However, in the last ten years, the number of tax payers has more than doubled and the tax collection has also increased. But now there is a possibility of it doubling and quadrupling. If everyone pays their share of tax, then the country will The development may become more rapid. Yes, freebies, black marketing, and corruption “refugee culture” must end.
(The author is a senior editor, columnist and former MP)