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BJP-Cong War on Poverty Shows No Lessons Learnt From 1971 One
- Published on 06 April 2019
(Extracted Image Courtesy: BJP)
The war to win the poor as a class vote is becoming fiercer with Congress Party resolving to eliminate “abject poverty” by 2030. The war between the Congress & Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is reminiscent of the slogans war they fought in 1971.
The Congress won the 1971 Lok Sabha elections with its Garibi Hatao slogan, BJP, in its earlier avatar – Bharatiya Jan Sangh, fought the elections with its manifesto headlined “Jan Sangh Declares War on Poverty”. The Manifesto’s cover page showed an arm holding a danda (staff). One does not know whether the photo tried to invoke spirit of Mahatama Gandhi or of a Chowkidar.
The current war between the two parties is, however, is not a mere battle of slogans. It is serious clash of two approaches to remove poverty.
BJP is banking on all existing schemes plus the assumption for sustained economic growth. This is actually Modi Government’s approach to make India Poverty-free by 2022 under his New India Pledge unveiled during August 2017. This observation is tentative as BJP has not yet released its manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It may contain some new initiative in the domain of inclusive growth.
No one is, however, buying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of poverty-free India by 2022. Not even NITI Aayog that he heads. In a 2016 presentation, NITI stated: “Growing at 10% will transform India – India will be a $10 trillion economy with no poverty in 2032”.
Can Modiji Win Election Without Pakistan as his Trump Card?
- Published on 04 April 2019
(Image culled from a full photo available at mea.gov.in)
“This partition has been a mistake and has to be annulled some day or other. (An Hon. Member: By force?) Why should I not have a right to say that?” stated founder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
He was participating in a debate over the Bill for first amendment to the Constitution in Parliament on 16th May 1951.
Dr. Mookerjee stoutly opposed Partition before and after it happened in 1947. He ultimately quit Nehru cabinet & the Congress Party to start BJP (originally Bharatiya Jan Sangh). Alas, BJP has never transformed Dr. Mookerjee’s vision into a credible initiative on phased merger of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It owes an explanation (if apology is undignified) to people of Indian subcontinent on this count.
There can never be peace in Indian sub-continent without merger in which religion should be relegated strictly to private space. The Merger should be driven by focus on our common genes, common culture and common goal - jobs, happiness & prosperity for all. Who is scared of rationality & humanity-driven unification?
The only other alternative and very painful one is to secure peace through a war. If this option is exercised, it must lead to break-up of Pakistan, which has become a cradle for global terrorism. The break-up idea has been articulated well by BJP maverick MP, Dr. Subramanian Swamy.
In September 2018, Dr. Swamy reportedly stated: “Pakistan be broken into four regions - Sindh, Balochistan, Pakhtun and West Pakistan - and the first three must be handed over to India. “This is the only solution to the India-Pakistan conflict”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done nothing to exercise either option. He has an unflinching faith in Empty Bravado. He resorts to token action when faced with horrible events and the public resentment over inaction. He loves fear-mongering about Pakistan during the election campaigns. He first tasted fruits of this fear-generating strategy in December 2002 polls for Gujarat State Assembly.
Scrap MPs & MLAs-led 4th Governance Tier For Capital Expenditure
- Published on 20 March 2019
(Edited Image Courtesy: mplads.gov.in)
The Congress Party’s campaign seeking dismissal of Union Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani should turn focus on controversies-ridden Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
The focus should also be extended to similar scheme, Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme (MLALADS), which is funded by State Governments.
Both should be scrapped on fiscal, administrative, ethical and electoral grounds. The two schemes are apt instances of institutionalized corruption & fiscal mismanagement that no political party wants to scrap.
This is in spite of categorical recommendation from National Commission to Review the Working the Constitution (NCRWC). In its report submitted to Vajpayee Government in April 2002, NCRWC recommended “immediate discontinuance of the MP LAD Scheme as being inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution in many ways”.
Like this august panel of constitutional experts, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Government-commission studies have found numerous flaws in the schemes.
The Supreme Court, in two separate verdicts, has, however, upheld the constitutional validity of the two schemes. Central Information Commission has, on the other hand, called for law to ensure transparency and accountability of MPLADS.
Environmental Taxation Needs a Holistic Approach
- Published on 20 March 2019
The UN-crafted sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement on Climate Change are set to alter tax revenue flows in varied ways. The alteration would result from changes in both the taxation and non-tariff norms governing production and usage of different materials.
The impact of alteration would perhaps be the most significant in the domain of fossil fuels and their derivatives notably plastics. Certain countries have either levied taxes or are likely to do so in the coming years to curb use of plastics and to facilitate their recycling. Most countries have already imposed non-tax regulations to discourage plastics usage, thereby impacting tax revenues.
The restrictions on consumption of one material facilitate increase in the demand for competing materials. In the case of plastics, the substitutes are aplenty – paper, natural fibres-derived materials, wood and aluminium, depending on the application.
Plastics are largely produced from intermediates derived from oil, gas and coal. The suppression in the demand for plastics would thus ultimately impact the entire value chain of fossil fuels. The revenue impact would also be influenced by mandated shift in electricity generation from fossils to renewable sources of energy. Same trend applies to regulatory shifts in petrol & diesel-driven vehicles to electricity-powered ones.
This issue has been aptly flagged in a White Paper titled ‘Thinking Strategically: Using Resource Revenues to Invest in a Sustainable Future’ released by World Economic Forum (WEF) on 21 February 2019.