Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has rendered a service to the nation by criticising a populist measure in Maharashtra. Under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, women aged 21-65 will receive Rs 1500 per month, provided their family income does not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh annually. It is common knowledge that income certificates can often be obtained through corrupt means by greasing the palms of the authorities concerned. The scheme is expected to cost the state Rs 46,000 crore, a staggering amount. On Monday, the state also announced a subsidy of Rs 50 per month for each of the estimated 46.13 lakh indigenous cows. These expenditures will not yield any significant returns and will drain the exchequer.
Gadkari has foreseen a scenario where the state government will be unable to sustain the subsidies it has promised to various sectors due to the limited state budget. He specifically pointed out the subsidies meant for investors. As the Opposition has noted, the government had to drop the aid for families of farmers who died by suicide, an emotional issue the Opposition was quick to exploit. In response, the state hastily restored the aid for these families. Remarkably, the Bharatiya Janata Party has consistently argued that the state should avoid populist measures that jeopardise the nation’s long-term interests. It even questioned the employment guarantee scheme introduced by the United Progressive Alliance-1 government led by the Congress. It is a different matter that its government had to continue it for some more time.
Yet today, the party is at the forefront of announcing populist measures, with its sole objective being to win the upcoming elections. Ideally, the state’s role should be to maintain law and order and implement policies that spur industrial, commercial and agricultural growth. For instance, the Information Technology sector grew the maximum when the government had little control over it. Heavy investments in infrastructure are essential to support development. While the government must lift the poor above the poverty line, this cannot be achieved through doles like monthly payments. Such payouts are little more than bribes to voters. States that resorted to populism either had to renege on their promises or borrow money just to meet daily expenses. It only has to remember the promise of bringing all the hidden wealth in foreign banks to pay each citizen Rs 15 lakh. Moreover, people are not so gullible as to fall for these gimmicks.
