The BJP's manifesto for 2019 is nothing but sugar-coated assurance for the next five years. However, the cake plan is far from the reality.
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India, the world's largest democracy, is currently in the throes of a general election. All the major political parties have tried to attract the masses by publishing their manifestos. In fact, if the election is going to revolve around the popularity of Narendra Modi, then the manifestos etc. have no meaning. He published a manifesto on the cover of the undeclared Prime Ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi. So Goliath vs. David has come to this propaganda war.
Every election takes a face. As you always have. Political parties also have a cure. All the political leaders at the national or state level are trying to make an indelible mark on the elections. They want to govern in their own way.
As the drumbeat of the Lok Sabha elections began to reverberate, all the media - of course with government money - began to fill the void with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's success stories. The 2019 manifesto is just an assurance for the next five years. However, the cake plan is far from the reality. In 2014, out of lust for power, the BJP had opted for a middle path rather than openness and right-wing politics. The BJP was very careful while preparing the manifesto. However, in five years, the whole picture has changed.
In the BJP's manifesto in 2014, the promise of a uniform civil code was at the very bottom. The threat to the country from internal as well as external enemies was also pushed back. At that time, the issue of development was at the forefront, using the word 'Team India' in a very clever way. The BJP benefited a lot from that. The feeling that the BJP was dependent on vision was created at that time. But today, all this has been replaced by heavy, stagnant statistics, with high levels of public investment.
The most pressing issue is about Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP manifesto has promised to repeal Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution. Article 370 of the Constitution gives autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, while Article 35A clarifies the difference between the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the Indian citizens. These promises may be comforting to Kashmiri pundits who had to flee the valley with their families in 1990 due to the terror of Kashmiri terrorists. At the same time, the manifesto comments on proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act.
This reform will give Hindu refugees the freedom to be resettled anywhere in India, while Muslims and Christians will have no place in it. When it comes to citizenship, it is the duty of the rulers to go beyond religion, creed and caste and look at their relatives with a sense of humanity. Those who are accustomed to implementing this will of course be bothered by the above assurance in the manifesto, no doubt.
The Sankalp Patra begins with the issue of Nation First. It promises security forces, armed forces, police and arms manufacturers. The resolution is the same as Donald Trump's call to the American electorate on the two emotional issues of illegal infiltration, curb and terrorism.
In a country like India, which is at high risk of natural disasters due to the ever-changing climate and with a large number of unemployed people roaming the streets, it is clear that the country is at risk from external enemies and therefore needs to be protected militarily. Has arrived. Robotics and artificial intelligence are two areas that are currently in vogue.
Out of the 3.5 billion workforce worldwide, 0.1 per cent robots are currently in operation. Climate sensitive India needs to find ways to save jobs and eradicate poverty through green economic development by investing heavily in manpower and social security. Otherwise your calculations will not take long to become like garbage.
Against the backdrop of discontent among farmers and the darkening of the drought, the second part of the resolution emphasizes the promise of doubling the income of farmers by 2022. In 2014, the agricultural sector was not given priority. Nothing concrete has been done for the agricultural sector in five years. Now, a government subsidy of Rs 6,000 per annum will be given to all farmers, pensions will be given to farmers above 60 years of age and the practice of deducting crop insurance scheme premiums from farmers' bank accounts without their permission will be discontinued. While the banking sector is already plagued by various ailments, the letter of intent has promised to provide interest-free loans of up to Rs one lakh to all farmers.
Farmers who have cows or bullocks are wondering what to do with these animals. They can't even sell them for fear of cowherds. The Sankalp letter does not comment on this point. It has been conveniently overlooked. Agricultural reform is also a forgotten issue. To make agriculture more open, to remove barriers in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, to allow farmers to sell their produce freely anywhere, to get rid of barriers, to loosen restrictions on imports and exports of agricultural commodities, to encourage domestic and foreign trade These issues do not seem to have been discussed anywhere in the resolution letter. The agricultural sector is mired in a vicious cycle of import control and export promotion. There is no mention of a settlement on that. The policy of controlling imports and promoting exports has also been challenged in the WTO. There is no reason to be skeptical that India will lag behind in the global market due to this outdated policy.
The government will try to change the course of the rural economy by pledging to provide permanent housing for all by 2022, drinking water supply to all villages by 2024, and digital connectivity to all villages. For this, Rs 25 trillion will be spent on rural development and agricultural development. 150 percent provision has been made in the budget for this!
It is proposed to enable India to become a five trillion economy by 2025 with fiscal stability, low inflation and a tax rate of 12 per cent of GDP. Over the next five years, the infrastructure sector is expected to generate 100 trillion in capital. Which was actually less than 20 trillion in the last five years. Therefore, it can be dangerous to present an unrealistic picture of the economy to the voters.
Public debt has reached 60 per cent of GDP. Attempts to reduce the fiscal deficit in the first three years have failed and the fiscal deficit in 2019 has reached four per cent. This deficit has been assessed on the strength of public sector performance. This includes lending to for-profit oil companies and the insurance industry, as well as lending to Air India and the already under pressure banking sector.
The inflow of foreign direct investment in India continues. But India's external account cannot rely on foreign debt or foreign investment, as foreign debt and foreign investment are sensitive to global market developments. False assurances have also been given in the resolution letter. Unrealistic promises have been made to make the impossible possible and voters are now used to it. The BJP had promised in its previous manifesto that the target of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy would be achieved by 2022. It was ridiculous then. We still haven't reached half of that goal.
Good performance raises people's expectations but they should be realistic. If the performance is realistic then there are limits to unrealistic expectations. Sankalp Patra is stuck here. The subtle and the subtle objectives are intertwined. Not a word has been said about trade and entrepreneurship. The pendulum of the list of promises could have been drawn further on the strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal charisma. If people still have faith in the Modi brand, voters will vote for the BJP, otherwise they will look for alternatives. Maybe that should be the message of the resolution letter.
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