Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (July 1) accused the Congress of deceiving the poor in the name of “false guarantees” in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol.
These “guarantees” — a term used to describe welfare schemes promised before elections — are understood to have helped the Opposition party defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Karnataka Assembly polls in May. It also forms the core of its electoral strategy in MP, one of the five States where Assembly polls are due this year.
Addressing a gathering at the launch event of the National Sickle Cell Anemia Eradication Mission 2047, and distribution of one crore Ayushman Bharat cards, which he described as one of his own guarantees, the Prime Minister targeted the Opposition, saying that their guarantees could have adverse economic consequences for States. He used a new slogan — “Gareeb par chot aur niyat mein khot [attack on the poor and flawed intentions]” — to attack his political opponents.
“When they guarantee free electricity, it means that they are going to increase the power tariffs. When they guarantee free travel, it means that the transportation of that State is about to come to a standstill. When they talk about increasing the pension, it means that the employees of that State will not even get their salary on time,” he said, rebuking promises made by the MP Congress such as 100 units of electricity free and 200 units at half-price and revival of the old pension scheme [already implemented in some Opposition-ruled States].
Even as unemployment has emerged as a major pre-poll issue in MP, the PM questioned other political parties promising jobs if voted in.
“When they give a guarantee to increase employment, it means that they will come up with policies that will destroy the businesses of that State,” he said, contrasting it with what he called his own “guarantees”, such as free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to more than 80 crore people.
Mr. Modi, who a few days ago in Bhopal had accused Opposition-ruled States of not giving enough tax concessions on the prices of fuel, said, “When they [talk] about cheap petrol, it means that he is preparing to withdraw money from your pocket by increasing the tax”. Notably, MP is one of the States with the highest petrol and diesel prices in the country.
While the Prime Minister has often spoken against the culture of freebies or revdi culture, Opposition governments across the spectrum have said that such incentives are needed for the people and that the fiscal management of their State(s) is better than that of the Centre. In States such as MP, the BJP and the Congress have announced similar cash incentive schemes for women in 2023 — the Ladli Behna Scheme (already rolled out) and the Nari Samman Yojana, respectively.
Wooing tribals
During the event held in the tribal-dominated district of eastern MP, Mr. Modi blamed previous governments for ignoring the cause of tribals and disrespecting them for the past 70 years while speaking of initiatives taken by his government at the Centre as well as the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in MP.
Paying rich tributes to Gond Queen Rani Durgavati, the PM announced that the government would celebrate the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati (October 5) in a grand way across the country — including the production of a film based on her life, a silver coin commemorating the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati and a postal stamp of her — to “take her life story to every house in the country”.
The PM later attended a cultural event Pakaria village of Shahdol. This itinerary was initially scheduled for June 27, which would have marked the conclusion of the five Rani Durgavati Gaurav Yatras started by the MP government, but bad weather forced a recschedule.
