DAYA SAGAR
Politicians are often found showing concern for the economically weaker sections, the unemployed / under employed youth, the woman & old age groups of society and in recent years more particularly when ever there are elections to Legislative Assemblies / Lok Sabha in India. Such behaviors of politicians become more worth taking notice since in India although no population census has been conducted after 2011 still as per disclosures made by those in Government and other unofficial individuals/ groups attempting to make some projections in more than 60 % population is economically at the lowest of the economic indices ( which is hence also supposed to be at the lowest of the access to aquiring even working literacy what to talk of education ) and may be over 20 % of the population is also between BPL and ‘lower middleclass’. So a very large population in India is all time engaged in looking for ways and means worth making them economically secure for covering some material needs therefore so any promises made by any one that appear to them worth directly or indirectly providing economic support would woo them infavour of such promises.
Large masses in India are very simple , god fearing and have very less time, money and even academics to analyze the complications of the polices & promises that the politicians in a democratic system of governance carry. A very common promise that the politicians have been showing over last four to five decades has been for the unemployed and under employed promising regularization of the under employed youth like daily wagers / consolidated wage employees / those employed on wages lower than the legitimate wage paid to those employed on regular pay scale for same/ similar class, those employed as Anganwari workers , SPOs. In earlier times during elections often there used to be complaints / reports that the ‘candidates’ are found paying money to needy people for ‘buying’ a vote or pay to some local leaders for influencing their followers. No doubt it is has been often alleged in the pass / it has been alleged in recent times too that money is spent ( fairly / unfairly) for organizing rallies and ‘entertaining’ the voters to increase the prospects but a new custom has now started over nearly two decades that of ‘indirectly’ buying the support of voter citizen through exploiting the economic inadequacies of the masses like promising ,if voted to power, to pay in kind/ cash ( directly or indirectly ) to individuals not out of the self pocket but out of the state exchequer. There is lot of scope for such exploitations in India whereas per government disclosers more than 80 Cr population is dependent on just 5 kg/ capita/ month of free ration for survival.
Similarly almost all parties are found promising to pay cash to every woman or head woman in every family/ BPL family , laptop to students/ every students/ girl student, health cover to every family through insurance upto 5 Lakh /7 Lakh/25Lakh, free/ reduced price gas cylinders to every family or BPL family , free 200/ 300 units electricity per month to all or designated families, some recently promising to waive off all the outstanding electric bills in full or part for all, some promising to remove the ‘smart electric meters’ ( so strangely and unfairly suggesting that these meters “add” extra units which is technically nowhere correct and even government machinery has not been able to convince the consumers that over consumption cannot be due to smart meter but can be due to consumption that gets recorded when a working meter is installed on the line , may it be ordinary mechanical meter / electronic meter/ of the modern smart meter). How far growth of such culture is in the interest of democracy in a country like India and if it is not what should be done for putting blocks in its growth ?
The voter citizen must investigate (i) Why those parties who promise such direct cash / material benefits to individual voters at the time of elections have not extended the same in the states they are already in power and if not why take their promise ? (ii) AAP had promised Rs.1000 for every woman in a family in the age group of 18-60 yr age , one would ask , why not beyond 60 Yrs ? (iii) But is the guaranty for a political carrying the promise on coming to power and that too without imposing additional direct/ indirect taxes ? (iv) Governments are spending thousands of crores of INR in the education sector where the employed teaching/ managing / administering staff is paid/ extended much more salary / has job security as compared a large majority of those in private schools (lowest primary school teacher in regular grade can get around Rs.50000/pm where as one in private academies may be getting in general around INR 5000 to INR 10000 only) but still even a low wage earner/ labourer prefers to send child to a private academy even in a city like Jammu or Srinagar) , why a vote seeker does not promise to make government schools department to perform on ground instead of offering free ‘gifts’ to children who can not afford private coaching school and private coaching after school ? To be continued
(The writer is a Sr Journalist & a known analyst of J&K affairs)