A strong opposition is crucial in a democracy. While the ruling party may rely on “Modi magic” once again, there are several issues that the government has struggled with. Ms. Supriya Sule’s recent speech in the house stands out as one of the best I’ve heard in recent times. It covers, point by point, how the Modi government has failed on many of its promises. This provides a perfect opportunity for opposition parties to rally around their message for the upcoming general elections.
PM Modi is a great orator with an effective campaign team, but voters need to understand the ground reality. It is difficult to point out any substantial work on the ground, except in Mr. Gadkari’s department. The Modi government’s talk and campaign promises have always centered around fighting corruption, bringing back black money, reducing poverty, and doubling farmers’ income. However, they have not been able to achieve any of these tasks to a meaningful level.
Unemployment is a critical issue. While we boast about the strength of the country’s young population, most of the youth are struggling to find decent jobs or opportunities to make a decent living. There are barely any jobs available in the market, and all we are doing is making them watch the sons and daughters of established politicians show off their lifestyles on social media. How are we nurturing the dreams and ambitions of common youth?
As I travel through Texas and follow the local news, it amazes and saddens me to see how many of our youth are desperately trying to enter the US borders illegally primarily due to the lack of opportunities back home and in search of better life elsewhere. Although the selected companies are growing as fast as ever, the growth disparity is huge.
For the most part, it seems like we are happy to see the growth of only a handful of individuals, while most of the youth struggle to make a living. Whenever I travel through rural India, it saddens me to see jobless youth wasting time rallying behind opportunist leaders who are mostly busy accumulating their capital and forming any possible political equations to stay in power.
As a farmer and agricultural researcher, myself, the plight of farmers is something that affects me the most. Prime Minister Modi had promised to double farmers’ income. However, as his government approaches the end of the second term, which makes a whole decade in power, net farm income has decreased substantially instead of doubling. Input prices have increased multiple folds since 2014, but the farm produce prices have not increased proportionately, and in some cases, have gone down, resulting in much reduced net income over time.
The major reason behind this is the Modi government’s tactics to keep inflation low by keeping food prices at their lower end, even if it means farmers end up losing income. For instance, the ban on the export of agricultural commodities like onion is mainly in place to keep onion prices low in the domestic markets. However, this strategy is unfair to farmers. Every business is pushing to explore foreign markets to make more money, but when it comes to farm produce, we deny that opportunity to farmers. And this is a sheer injustice; after all, farming is also a business.
It is the enterprise on which still ~55% of the country’s population relies for a living, directly and indirectly. If you are denying farmers the right to maximize their income by exporting farm produce, at least they should get some sort of compensation for their loss. Farm subsidies or loan waivers would be the right thing to do to compensate farmers.
The government recently bestowed Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, on one of the most prominent agricultural scientists, Dr. MS Swaminathan. Even though this is good news, what they can really do to pay him homage is to consider the recommendations made by the Swaminathan committee towards farm reforms. Merely giving an award is not enough unless we adopt the policies recommended by scientists like Dr. Swaminathan.
Getting rid of corruption has been on the Modi government’s agenda from the beginning, but the ground reality is very different. Corruption remains prevalent across various levels, with the only notable shift being in the method of bribery payment, transitioning from cash transactions to online channels. The ruling party’s policies of political recruitment or coalition contradict their own stand on corruption.
They demonstrate no reluctance in recruiting opposition leaders whom they previously accused of involvement in some of the most severe economic scandals. How come the same politicians, when in opposition face charges of serious corruption but get cleansed upon joining hands with the ruling party?
It is good to see central government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate working hard to combat economic crimes, but the question remains how come there is such an imbalance in the number of politicians under scrutiny between the opposition and the ruling party? This selective treatment of government agencies is worrisome and anti-democratic. It seems like all those potentially guilty of serious frauds and under scrutiny need to do is join hands with the government, and all their wrongdoing gets washed away.
As I mentioned earlier, even though the capital of selected companies is skyrocketing, more than 150 million people still live with less than $1.90 per day on purchasing power parity. If we compare the cost of living and average income over time, it seems poverty will be here for a long time no matter how much we talk about becoming a superpower.
According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2022 report on food security and nutrition, >224 million people or 16% of India’s population are still undernourished. Isn’t it contradictory that the government claims increased income or reduced poverty on the one hand but on the other hand feels the need to put a greater number of people into food assistance programs every year?
There are many issues individual states are facing, from demands for reservation to farm reforms. However, politicians often resort to familiar tactics, leveraging these issues for political gain. Take, for example, the situation in Maharashtra, where farmers seek loan waivers, and the Maratha community advocates for reservation rights.
Virtually every political figure, including those in power, pledges support for these causes. Yet, the paradox emerges when those in authority fail to take decisive action to address these concerns, despite commanding a political majority at state and central level. What impedes them from fulfilling these promises, especially when they possess the means to enact change and introduce new policies? Furthermore, it’s baffling to witness these same politicians, capable of effecting change, actively participating in protests to demonstrate solidarity with voter demands.
In conclusion, the onus falls upon the opposition to hold the ruling party accountable for its myriad failures and offer concrete solutions to address the pressing issues confronting the nation. As voters, it is incumbent upon us to scrutinize the track record of governance critically and demand accountability from our elected representatives. Only through informed and vigilant citizenship can we ensure the realization of our collective aspirations for a prosperous and equitable India.