The BJP headed rule at the Centre is in the second consecutive tenure simply by winning majority number of Lok Sabha seats and not by securing the majority votes in the electorate.
During the first tenure (2014-2019) many economic measures like demonetisation of high valued currency notes were announced with the sole motive of bringing out the black money that paralyses the Indian economy. No tangible results did forthcome but only common people were exposed to lot many hardships besides loss of many life. All the unaccounted high valued currency notes had flown into the banking channel which defeated the purpose of demonetisation. Again Goods and Sales Tax (GST) was introduced in a hurried manner without proper planning, which was forecast that it will curtail the fiscal revenue of States, due to the abolition of existing Sales Tax so far collected by the States directly.
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The Centre had promised to compensate the States for their deficit in the fiscal revenue through the periodical sharing of GST collected by the Centre from the respective States. Now the promise of the Centre went on air due to the shortfall in the collection of GST. The Centre has expressed its inability openly.
Apart from the setback in the fiscal strength of the States, many small industries and enterprises had to wind up their activities that resulted in the job loss of many workers. Again job losses have a heavy bearing on the purchasing power of the consumer – workers. Besides the poll promise of 2 crore job creation every year and doubling the income of farmers by the year 2020 was made. Now 2020 has dawned. Nothing has happened except convenient forgetting of the promises on the part of the saffron rulers.
Year wise, quarter wise and month wise the performance parameters of the country is coming down continuously and consistently. The Union Finance Minister had declared that the economic growth rate of the country was aimed at 8 per cent. The real growth is contrary. The growth rate was 8 per cent during the previous Congress party regime. Next, it came down to 7 per cent in the BJP rule; Subsequently in every quarter it slashed down as 6.6, 5.8. 5.0 percent.
At present it is 4.5 percent. Such an economic slash down is unprecedented. What are the net effects of these slashing down?
- . The price rise of essential communities remains unabated. (the onion price rise is the unabated current scenario).
- . The purchasing levels (quantum) of household articles have come down as per NSSO Survey.
- . The down fall in the availability of rural wage workers.
- . The fall in farmgate prices of agricultural produces, not commensurating with the production costs, leading to grave miseries of farmers.
- . Daily wage earners find it difficult to get employment even for 15 days in a month.
- . The long pending demand for the increase in fund allocation for Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGREGS) still persists.
- . The sales of durable and non durable – daily utility products have dipped.
- . The Whole Sale Price Inflation has gone up by 1.92 per cent
- . Consumer Price Inflation is at 4 per cent and on the retail side it is 4.62 per cent.
. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had contracted by 4.3 per cent in September to 1.1 per cent in August. The contraction in industrial activity and rising inflation may lead India (as economic experts fear) to enter a phase of stagflation (persistent high inflation combined with stagnant or declining demand).
All these negative trends are due to the wrong economic policy decisions of the BJP rulers as mentioned above. For a country like ours, the Union of States with people of different language, culture, earning environment and life style, the governing power should be decentralised with the States for the effective delivery of goods and services. The States Government is the governing machinery that meets the positive and negative features of people’s life on daily basis. But the BJP rule is characterised by and adamant with centralisation of power not even with the various ministries of its Union Government but with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) itself. The expertise of economists is not reckoned to overcome the arduous condition of the economy.
Instead of focusing on these immediate ‘what to do actions’, the BJP, otherwise, is engaging in its ideological implementation under the garb of brute majority in the Lok Sabha. The disinvestment of PSU is akin to cooking of seed materials reserved for seasonal cultivation. Deliberate diversions by the BJP rule to the needless affairs will lead the country to further worse situation. Many signals of global warning have come by the current economic situation.
Let the BJP awake from the deliberate slumber to save the country!
