Looking at everything through a political prism has immensely affected India’s growth as a nation. As a result, we have never been able to unanimously decide and direct our actions. Now, it is a certainty that whatever decision the government takes, the opposition will reject it out rightly. For example, the Panchayeti Raj Bill, brought by the Rajiv Gandhi Government, got defeated in Rajya Sabha by a slender margin. It is not that the opposition parties were against transferring power to the grass root level. As a matter of fact, it was the demand of the opposition which Rajiv Gandhi was trying to institutionalise. But as general elections was nearing, the opposition, which was enjoying majority in Rajya Sabha at that time, denied passage to that very important legislation. It was done simply to deny Rajiv Gandhi the credit of making Mahatma Gandhi’s dream a reality. The opposition feared that if the said bill was passed, Rajiv Gandhi would be the beneficiary and the wait for them to capture power would be longer. There are plenty such examples on how the lack of consensus has spoiled such positive initiatives. In all these cases, the detractors were not guided by national interest, but by self interest.
Similarly, the same issue is occurring in the case of the recent economic package announced by the government to revive the economy. We all know that the corona pandemic has severely damaged Indian economy. At present, our primary task is to bring our economy back on track. Many experts have suggested different ways to get rid of the situation. The government’s economic package is a compilation of such suggestions. But since the time the package has been announced, the opposition parties have started attacking the government pointing out various flaws in the package. One suggestion which the opposition parties have put forward is to provide cash to the people. Rahul Gandhi, who promised Rs. 6000 per month per if voted to power in the 2019 election manifesto, is once again leading the chorus. But will this idea be able to rescue the economy or it will usher dole economy in the country? It is argued that such populist measures cause more harm than good to the economy. In fact one economic theory advocates that if ten persons are given equal amount of money, after a year it will be found that all the money is in the hands of two to three persons, and the rest remain as poor as they are. Here the government wisely allocated huge amount for Mahatma Gandhi Rural employment guarantee scheme. The plan will be beneficial both for the people and the country, if the amount earmarked is spent on creating permanent assets.
Post-corona, India will have to play a crucial role not only for reviving its own economy, but also strengthening the world economy. In all possibilities, India will be the next major manufacturing hub of the world. To achieve this distinction, India will have to spend a lot on infrastructure and on easing the process of setting up industries here. One will have to judge the economic package keeping all these aspects in mind. The package should not be judged with a partisan view. So, economic revival of the country should not be turned into a game of political chess as such practice is simply suicidal.
