dangerous-trend-of-wanton-freebies-will-bleed-economy

The dangerous trend of wanton freebies being promised and delivered by all the political parties is certain to bleed the nation’s economy. In the long run, it will have a devastatingly disastrous impact on the progress of the nation. Instead of focusing on development, the governments will opt for the easy way out, by promising and providing the freebies, including cash incentives to the voters, which otherwise should amount to electoral corruption.

 

Punjab is a classic case of how freebies can destroy a strong economy. Punjab was once a prosperous and financially surplus state till 1985. Despite the onset of militancy, Punjab’s finances remained stable. Then came the free electricity to agriculture sector in 1997, after the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government in the state headed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

 

Wanting to win back the panthic/rural Jatt Sikh ‘constituency’, after about a decade of turmoil, Badal had promised to provide free electricity to the agriculture sector. Jatt Sikh peasantry had always been the main support base for the Akalis. He was bound by the promise he had made. After winning a landslide victory in February 1997 in alliance with the BJP, he went ahead with his decision to provide free electricity to the farmers in Punjab, the only state in the country to do so.

 

As people do not take long time to forget, most of the same Jatt Sikh peasantry ditched and deserted the Akali Dal by 2022, so much so Badal lost from his family bastion, Lambi assembly segment, for the first time in his seven decades of political career. This should be a lesson for all those promising the freebies that their benefits come with a very brief expiry date.

 

Till 2025, the Punjab government has paid around a whopping Rs 1.30 lakh crores of power subsidy to the agriculture sector. This is about one third of the total debt the state is burdened with. The power subsidy is provided to every farmer irrespective of the landholdings. Although there have been suggestions that there should be a ceiling on land holdings for providing power subsidy, it has not been done. No government can take the risk of putting a ceiling.

 

In neighbouring Haryana, Om Prakash Chautala, a close family friend of Badal, was looking for a comeback. He forged an alliance with the BJP there and contested elections in 1999 promising free power to farmers, on the pattern of Punjab. However, in the year 2000 budget, his government’s first one, when the decision was to be expected, he backed out. It was later learnt that Chautala had been advised by Badal not to go ahead with the “free power” to agriculture lest it ruin the economy of the state. At least, Badal had become wiser in hindsight and saved Haryana’s economy.

 

Fast forward to 2013. The Aam Aadmi Party was formed from an NGO, India Against Corruption (IAC). The party decided to contest the election and sprang a surprise by forming the government in Delhi with the support of Congress. The government lasted for a brief period of time. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned. Fresh elections were held in 2015 and the AAP literally swept the Delhi assembly elections winning 67 of 70 seats. Kejriwal promised free water and free electricity and since then there has been no going back.

 

There is “electoral politics” behind the “freebies”, which Kejriwal visualised and applied and benefitted from. The benefit of freebies mostly goes to the lower sections of the society, which constitute large numbers. Moreover, this section of the society participates maximum in the electoral process and votes in large numbers. Targeting this section for benefits directly translates into electoral victories. Kejriwal tried this model in Delhi and succeeded thrice, in 2013, 2015 and 2020 in Delhi. Besides, the freebies reach the beneficiary directly, unlike developmental schemes, which are for common good.

 

He tried the same model in Punjab as well, promising 300 units of free electricity. However, the Congress government had already announced 200 units of free power while being in power ahead of the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. Kejriwal went ahead further by promising Rs 1000 to every woman, every month. The AAP volunteers filled up the forms of women across the state promising that once the AAP forms government they will get Rs 1000 every month. This was believed to be the main vote-catcher idea for the AAP. But the AAP has not implemented the scheme in Punjab so far, even after being in power for three years.

 

The precarious financial situation prevailing in the state is making it difficult for the AAP government to fulfill this promise. The party bore the brunt of the “failed promise” in the parliamentary elections when it lost 10 of the 13 constituencies. People rarely remember what is done for them and they only remember what is not done for them. Otherwise, the 300 units of free power provided to every household every month should have been enough for the party to perform better. The benefit of 300 units of free power is availed as much by the middle classes as the lower classes.

 

Taking the queue from Kejriwal, the Congress also promised Rs 2000 and Rs 2500 per month to women in Karnataka and Telangana respectively, besides several other freebies. It won in both the states. What should actually amount to political corruption, is claimed to be the political promise. Not just the Congress and the AAP, the BJP has also done the same thing. In Madhya Pradesh it announced Ladli Behna Yojana giving Rs 1250 every month to women, which is believed to have helped the party to win the assembly elections once again. In Maharashtra also, its alliance government promised a similar scheme and reaped phenomenal political dividends.

 

Realising that people are fascinated with and attracted too much by the freebies and cash incentives started by Kerjiwal in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the union Home Minister Amit Shah have been repeatedly assuring the people there that all the “freebies” will continue even after the AAP is removed from power. The same BJP used to describe and dismiss the “freebies” as “revdi” (sweet candy).

 

During the 2024 General Elections, the Congress had promised monthly cash assistance to one woman in every family across the country. Rahul Gandhi’s announcement in ever election rally that the women will get money every month, ‘khatta-khat’ had become exemplary.

 

Besides, it had promised an assured Rs one lakh for one year for every unemployed youth. However, the plank did not seem to work for the Congress and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance and it lost again for the third time. But the BJP did suffer a loss of 60 parliamentary constituencies as compared to the 2019 General Elections.

 

This is a dangerous trend that is developing in the Indian political system. The competitive populism resorted to by all the political parties is not just draining the economy, but is bleeding it. Punjab should be a classic example. A very prosperous and progressive state with an exceptional industrial and agricultural base has drifted to the lowest levels. State’s debt was estimated to be around Rs 3.71 lakh crores up to December last. The state does not have enough income even to service its debt, not to speak of repaying it. State takes loans even for debt servicing. The progress has come to a standstill, as the state does not have enough money even to meet its day-to-day needs.

 

The major problem with the freebies is that once these are started, no government can ever dare to touch these unless it is prepared for its own doom. There have been demands and suggestions about rationalising the power subsidy in the agriculture sector in Punjab, but no government wants to touch the “ultra-sensitive” matter. Otherwise also, the farmers continue to be restive in the state thanks to the overzealousness among political parties to make political capital out of their protests. The same is the case of monthly cash incentives and other freebies provided in other states.

 

A majority of the Indian electorate now appears to be more concerned about and interested in his/her personal/individual benefits over the common good. Whether one gets good road connectivity and better infrastructure does not seem to bother the voters much. Yes, if they get free electricity, free water plus cash incentives, that will be a more attractive option and it is proving that way only.

 

The Congress appears to have picked up the AAP idea and has been propagating it in a more aggressive way. Party leader, Rahul Gandhi has even been suggesting the wealth “redistribution” claiming that just a few percent of people in the country have grabbed entire wealth. He has been projecting himself as the messiah of the poor and the downtrodden arguing that freebies are their right. His situation is understandable. Like any other political leader desperate to win the elections, he is also trying to use every trick in the trade.

 

But all this has to stop somewhere. The sooner it is stopped the better it would be. No economy, no matter how strong and powerful it might be, can survive wanton freebies for a long time.