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Poor Have No Voice





The blog is again on COVID a deadly disease which is holiday for the have’s and nightmare for the have-not’s. A disease which is contact base and, in a country, which have very high population density (464 people/km2) it is a great challenge to tackle. Unfortunately, this country which I want to refer is India. Society of India is very complex where division of the society is done at every possible stage and people not only strive but literally fight to get their voice hears in political arena, the challenge is increased manifolds.
The most contested turf in this crisis situation is political turf, there is intense fragmentation at all levels from street to parliament house, supports are flocking behind their leaders and claiming that the crisis situation is under control because of their respective leaders.
But what are the effect of this type of politics at the national and regional level when this crisis is over?
This is what this blog tries to enquire, not in a laymen manner, but at a very technical level. We will try to find out the effect of present policies and the most likely changes they will bring in the polity of the country if any one of the 1.36 billion have sense to file a PIL in courts post-crisis.
Blow to cooperative federalism
Federalism is derived from the Latin word ‘foedus’, which mean ‘agreement’. Federation is an agreement between two types of government sharing the power and controlling their respective spheres. Thus a federation is a system of national and local government, combined under a common sovereignty with both national as well as federation units having autonomous spheres assigned to them by the constitution.
India adopted a ‘quasi-federal’ structure, in which more powers were given to the centre/union government to safeguard the unity of India, as at the time of the constitution formation makers of the constitution do not want to break India again. This is the reason that India adopted emergency provision under which federal system get converted to unitary system.
In contemporary times balancing and sustaining this spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’ was the greatest challenges and Prime Minister like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi were able to succeed in this endeavour of their and bring very drastic change in the various fields of India.
But, in the circumstances like COVID states are blaming each for the mishap will not only take the culture of cooperative federalism backward to the era of Rajiv Gandhi where extreme centralisation was practiced in the country.

Politics of Face Value
PM Narendra Modi anticipated and even acted on the opportunity that COVID have give to create, remodel and revamp the infrastructure for ‘self-reliant’, but telling a huge lie that the economic package is of 20 lakh crores (~200 billion), but most of it is actually fiscal stimulus. People of India perceived package as cash distribution scheme. And PM avoided to elaborate on the fact that major chunk of the package is actually a fiscal stimulus. This have created a very ugly ground work of telling lies to the public for political gain, just like what Indra Gandhi did in her time. This reversal of political game from higher degree to lower degree is very unfortunate. Until now provincial/ state government earn their votes by shaming the union/central government. But the trend restarted by the present party will start a culture to shaming of state government even though it will not serve any purpose as the division of power is between state-centre and not state-state.

Opaque functioning
In this age when government are trying to implement the principles of good governance, information is very vital. And when most of the government including India is trying to implement ‘minimum government & maximum governance’ dispersal of factual and true in public domain makes the government more transparent. This transparency and dispersal of true information is restricted by the government of India, from the very independence till present time. This opaqueness was somewhat rectified in the 2004 by implementing the Right of Information Act. But a sunset clause in each bill along with revelation clause should added.
This same habit is again shown by the government of each and every state irrespective of the party ruling the state. None of the government release district-wise cases on daily basis. Along with this there is very less information of how the amount donated in the PM Relief Fund is utilised.

Ruthless politics
Very recently the ruling party (BJP) and opposition (Congress coalition) had a very dirty fight over transporting the migrant worker from one state to the other. Also, there is inhumane treatment of the migrant workers by every state government. None of the state government ensured the medical, food and residential facility to the migrant workers. Disparity had rose to such an extend that the workers decided to bridge the distance on their foot. 1000 odd kilometres from their workplace to their native was covered by scores of migrant workers and only after 20-30 days of the crisis, after securing their own self interest government started taking partial care of the workers.

Awakening
After the crisis one thing is sure if the civil society of the country is vibrant that all political class is exposed to their core. The real motive has been exposed which is sheer profit making & pleasing the capital class. This opportunity should be grasped by the people most affected by the crisis and must be utilised in next election. Asking politicians about the hospitals, schools and the funds they really intend to spend for the poor. The crisis will forever change the trade between the nations. But, question to be asked by the citizen of this nation is that, When MNC’s will come who will to setup their factories and offices who will get the benefit of the economic boom that will come. And also, in the case of economic recession whose money actually will go in loss. Asking these fundamental question is very much necessary for the future government, this will make the government to think, prepare, invest and them tackle any unforeseen crisis that is sure to occur in future, just as the world pandemic repeat in nearly 100 years.
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Location: New Delhi, Delhi, India

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