Dear Editor,
There is a Chinese proverb which says that, if you give a man a fish, he is hungry again in an hour; if you teach him to catch a fish, you do him a good turn. Ready fish will be consumed and exhausted in no time but the skill to catch fish will remain with him.
J Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu introduced the policy of gifting large-scale largesse to the electorate before each election. The disease spread to other states, particularly Bihar. Almost all states have adopted this practice.
However, what happens is that in the course of time, the electorate gets so addicted to such practices that it becomes blind to the strong proven corruption charges against its leaders.
Ramni Singh
Chenani, Udhampur