Politicos hoodwink voters with hollow promises

“Athankwadiyo ne bahut badi galti kar chuke hai. Unhe saja jaroor milegi,” (Terrorists have committed grave mistake. They will be certainly be punished), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying in a clear, loud and firm voice for the last three days.

The entire country is seething with anger and is waiting with bated breath to see what action the government would take to teach a lesson to Pakistan which refuses to mend its ways and continues to encourage and abet terrorism from across the border.

The entire country stands by the Prime Minister like a rock. All Opposition parties, rising above political considerations, unanimously authorised the government to take appropriate action and we hope that sooner than later the government will take up multipronged action (long term and short term) that would instill confidence both among the people and the forces.

At the same time, let us hope that the BJP will not use this as an issue of campaign during Lok Sabha elections. Whatever action the government takes, it should be considered as united action by all sections of the people not just the ruling party.

There are many other issues which the political parties can talk about including spending tax payer’s money in a senseless manner as they are doing now by competing with each other in giving freebies for votes. We are also seeing some politicians in hurry whose only aim is to use words like “was he grazing donkeys” all these years.

The only aim of every leader is to either become a Chief Minister or Prime Minister and the only weapon they use is verbosity. No one seems to have done any study about the short and long term financial implications of the promises they are making and hardly anyone seems to be aware as to where the rupee comes from and where it goes.

If one party promises Rs 2,000 pension for people of 60 years and above, another party wants to make the people feel that those who are in the age group of 45 are unfit to work and promises pension. There are some leaders who say they will set up one corporation each for all the communities of backward classes. A classic example of a party which has made such a promise is YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh.

It has promised to constitute 139 BC corporations. That indicates how naïve the party leadership is in administration. The issue of the Telangana government removing about 35 communities from the list of BCs has become a matter of political speeches and the YSRCP chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy who promises 139 corporations does not explain what his stand is on this issue.

All that the says is why not his arch political rival Chandrababu Naidu raised the issue when he hosted lunch to KCR when the later had gone to Vijayawada to invite Naidu for Mahachandiyagam in 2015. Did Jagan discuss this issue with the TRS working president KTR when he met Jagan at his Lotus Pond house? If so, why does he not make it as an issue of political campaign and pat his own back. It is unfortunate that everyone is making promises which cannot be implemented.

There was a time when elections used to be fun for the people but now it is leading to frustration as ultimately it is the common man, the genuine tax payer, who is being used as milch cow. While it is essential to do all that is necessary for upliftment of communities that are backward and have been ignored for decades, the leaders should have a vision and should make proper financial calculations lest the State and the people will be so deep in debt trap and it would become impossible to come out of it. It will have a long-term impact and development would go down the drain.

Every five years the leaders will come and go but it is the common man who will have to bear the burden of their follies and lust for power. This is the right time the voters think practically and not get lured by promises and use their right to franchise judiciously.