DAYA SAGAR
So common a concern that the politicians have been showing over last four to five decades has been for the unemployed and under employed youth, the ‘below poverty line’ subjects, the backward classes, the dependent senior citizens, the woman and like could possibly be looking for some immediate economic inputs for the minimum surviving needs and accordingly make promises to of direct economic benefits during elections .So a valued question is what can the voter citizen do in case the direct benefit economic promises made during the election campaign are not fulfilled ?
As a test check let us specifically look at the direct benefit promises made by the National Conference in its election-2024 manifesto and what have reflected upto presentation of Budget-2025-26 for UT of J&K on 07-03-2025 and Chief Minister address in Assembly on 11-03-2025.
Not only that the common voter citizen must question the promising politicians to make public in clear understandable terms (i) what is the level of BPL ( below poverty line) or the beneficiary who would be offered cost less benefits ? (ii) When the Ayushmaan health card is to benefit all residents in one state then why is the same card benefiting only BPL families in some states ? Why not also appoint an audit agency dedicated only for checking the validity of those holding status cards like BPL ( below poverty line ) and drawing various economic supports from exchequer since in India even a beggar is paying taxes ( indirect taxes on what he consumes / uses) and it is often quoted in private that on check one would surely get some BPL card holder in the Qs before the wine shops ?.
Times demand that the political parties be debarred from making any promises during election campaign of direct or indirect cash/ material benefit to individual voters / group of voters / segments of society only if voted to power . Not only that all those holding power in center and in a state where election is to be held in near future should be prohibited from making announcement for any new projects or direct economic benefit for individuals 3 months before the date the term of the Assembly / Lok Sabha is going to end even if ECI has not till then announced the election schedule.
(The writer is a Sr Journalist & a known analyst of J&K affairs)