How dangerous is Revdi politics, the trailer was seen in Himachal Pradesh! When will the parties improve?

New Delhi : Himachal Pradesh is an example of how free freebies become shackles. When freebie politics becomes a short cut to power, there will be trouble. If not today, then tomorrow. Himachal Pradesh is a warning. Himachal Pradesh is a lesson. If the trend of free freebies continues irresponsibly, with the aim of harvesting electoral harvest, if the recipe of polishing politics continues to be cooked on the heat of populist promises, then the situation will worsen. The public will fill the parties’ bags with votes in the pursuit of free freebies, but they will have to pay the price for it too. It has not even been two years since the then Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned in Britain due to not being able to fulfill the promises of free freebies like tax cuts and on the contrary, the economy got messed up due to it. But in India, such a resignation can never be thought of even in dreams. Anyway, let’s come to Himachal Pradesh. It is in the news. In discussion because in view of the poor economic condition of the state, the Chief Minister, Ministers, Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the boards as well as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary will not take salary and allowances for two months. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has also appealed to all the MLAs of the state not to take salary for two months in ‘public interest’. But what will happen if the ministers and MLAs do not take salary for two months? This is not a drop in the ocean. This may not have any effect on the poor economy of the state but the Chief Minister and the cabinet can definitely succeed in giving the message and gaining sympathy that for them the welfare of the public is above all!

The gift of free goodies became a disaster!
In 2022, Congress ousted BJP from power by winning a spectacular victory in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu became the Chief Minister. The biggest challenge before him/her was to fulfill the ‘election guarantees’ given to the public in the form of populist promises. Promises like improving employment, education and health system were made with great enthusiasm but there were many promises which at first glance seemed to be drenched in the syrup of Revdi culture. For example, free electricity up to 300 units, Rs 1500 per month for women aged 19-60, implementation of Old Pension Scheme etc. Now within just 2 years of the formation of the government, the situation has come to such a pass that the Chief Minister and ministers have to announce not to take salary for two months.

The annual budget of Himachal Pradesh is Rs 58,444 crore. Out of this, about 42 thousand crores is being spent only on salary, pension and repayment of old loans. Now imagine yourself how education, health, employment, roads, infrastructure and other development works will be done? Rs 800 crore is being spent annually on direct cash benefit for women. Expenses of old pension scheme and free electricity are on top of that. The government is spending about 20 thousand crores only on the scheme of Rs 1500 per month for women, free electricity and old pension scheme. On top of that, the state is getting buried under the burden of debt. The situation is such that the central government has been forced to reduce the limit of the state’s loan. Himachal Pradesh has a huge expenditure of Rs 86,600 crore till March 2024. According to an RBI report, when the Congress government came to power in the state in 2022, the state had a debt of Rs 68,896 crore. In less than two years, the debt burden has increased by about Rs 18 thousand crores. The economic crisis in the state has deepened. The situation is such that the state government has not been able to pay Rs 1000 crores for pension, gratuity and other items of 28 thousand employees.

Debate on freebies versus public welfare
The custom of freebies like free electricity and water has grown rapidly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned several times about the culture of freebie politics. Debates also arise from time to time on the culture of freebies. Political parties often defend freebies by saying that they are for the welfare of the public. They also raise the question that why ‘our gift is freebies, but your gift is schemes’? If free electricity is freebies, then why is free food a masterstroke? This debate will continue, but the reality is that if you stretch your legs beyond your means, then there will be problems. Schemes for the welfare of the poor and the deprived are necessary for the development of the country or the state and are also the duty of the governments, but one has to understand the difference between this and the electoral weapon of freebies. Populist schemes run for short-term purposes like political gains will not benefit the public, rather they will become a burden on the public in the future. The debate on free rewadi versus public welfare scheme will continue but Himachal Pradesh is a lesson on how the culture of free rewadi can make one poor.

Everyone is naked in the hammam
However, Himachal is not the only one in a bad state because of free freebies. It is not that only Congress has made the promise of free freebies an election weapon. Everyone is naked in the hamaam. Be it Congress or BJP, Aam Aadmi Party or any other party. BJP is a part of the coalition government in Maharashtra. It has also recently announced a cash benefit transfer scheme for women. Such a scheme is already in place in Madhya Pradesh. The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi is working on such a scheme. The credit for its coming to power and remaining in power goes to promises and schemes like free electricity and water. The situation is the same in Punjab. In many states of the South, election promises like giving TV, fridge, saree, jewellery are common. Overall, almost all the parties are using free freebies as a ladder to come to power. It is time for all of them to be alert. It is also time for the public to be alert that their condition may get worse due to the greed for free freebies.

The Election Commission will also have to show strictness. It had indicated to take a tough stand. In October 2022, the Commission had written a letter to the political parties that just promises will not suffice, it will also have to be told how they will be fulfilled? Where will the money come from for them? That is, the parties were asked to give the entire roadmap for fulfilling the election promises. It was said that only such promises should be made in the elections which are possible to fulfill. But many parties were so infuriated by the letter of the Commission that it was termed as ‘nail in the coffin of democracy’. All the parties got so angry as if the promises of freebies were their birthright. Later, the tough stance of the Election Commission could not be maintained, whereas it is needed the most now.

When Britain’s PM had to resign over ‘freebies’
While we are at it, let us also recall that two-year-old incident of Britain which was mentioned in the top lines. In October 2022, the then Prime Minister of Britain, Liz Truss, had to resign within just one and a half months of assuming office. On 6 September 2022, she took over the responsibility of the post of PM of Britain. She had promised to get rid of inflation and breathe new life into the faltering economy. Despite the faltering economy, she made populist promises like tax cuts. Critics were warning but ignoring them, tax cuts were also announced. But this worsened the situation. Inflation became uncontrollable, the stock market started falling, the currency started weakening, the economy started faltering. The people troubled by inflation started groaning. Seeing the situation not improving, Truss sacked Finance Minister Kwasi Quarteg. Jeremy Hunt was made the new Finance Minister but the newly-appointed Finance Minister publicly termed many of the Prime Minister’s decisions as wrong. Truss had to face a lot of embarrassment. There was a lot of criticism. She withdrew the announcement of tax cuts. But seeing the criticism she was facing, she finally resigned on 20 October 2022.