People's Democracy

AS we reach our readers, the results of the crucial elections to State Assemblies especially Uttar Pradesh will be before us. And the BJP and its allies would have got another drubbing at the hands of the people. As far as UP is concerned, another battle will have begun - the battle by the BJP, to garner a majority, using the most unscrupulous of means. The day after electioneering for the third phase ended, the BJP has officially confirmed the long-held suspicion that it had actually financed a large number of the BSP candidates. The BJP will now be seeking the return, in terms of defections, on such "political investment". Its track record in Uttar Pradesh so far only underlines the fact that it can stoop to the lowest depths of political immorality and sordid bargaining to remain in power. We can only hope that the secular forces will be able to thwart these attmepts.

It can be expected that such assaults on political morality by the BJP, will be accompanied by greater assaults on the livelihood of the people. Particularly as the elections were so timed that the Vajpayee government could mount such an offensive through the forthcoming budget, without having to face the people's anger at the polls.

As noted earlier both in these columns and elsewhere, the economy is in a complete mess. The Finance Minister's "dream budget" has turned out to be a nightmare. Every economic index has seen a decline in its growth rate. Even the great pundits of the 'reforms' are today forced to recognise the simple fact that we have been articulating for the last decade, viz.,

by reducing the purchasing power of the people, no tragectory of economic growth can be sustainable.

Over these years of reforms, particularly since this Vajpayee government's assuming office, the corporate sector and the affluent have been given a series of concessions worth thousands of crores of rupees, thereby forfeiting corresponding thousands of crores of rupees as government revenue. This therefore, constitutes nothing other than a brazen subsidy for the rich.

On the other hand, the meagre subsidy for the poor was ruthlessly cut, and the vast bulk of the people have had to see their purchasing power rapidly erode and their livelihood sharply decline. This has led to a plummeting in domestic demand, compounding the recessionary tendency.

Predictably, as the budget approaches, the cries for the 'second generation' of reforms have become more strident. In other words, further shrink the purchasing power of the people while giving greater concessions to the rich. This will only lead our country deeper into the trap of mortgage and debt. The government continues to sell the 'family silver', the public sector, cheaply to help meet its daily expenditure. Could anything be more shortsighted! And ruthless retrenchment of employees and workers will follow.

More importantly from the point of view of growth, capital investment, particularly in agriculture, will sharply deteriorate, worsening an already woeful economic and social infrastructure. All this means compounding the crisis further, further aggravating the misery of the vast mass of the people, at a time when starvation deaths and distress suicides amongst our farmers are on the rise.

Such brazen attacks on India's economic sovereignty and the rights of the people cannot be tolerated. We shall have to brace ourselves for mightier struggles in the post-budget period. Apart from safeguarding the economic rights and livelihood of the people, these struggles will have to take a political direction in ensuring the speedy liberation of India and its people from this Vajpayee government.