With the Lok Sabha polls round the corner, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made yet another overambitious promise in order to gain the support of the electorate. This time, the Congress president has promised Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all the poor families, if voted to power. Rahul Gandhi said, “Congress has decided to provide minimum income to the poor in all the states. The poor will get a minimum income directly into their bank account. This scheme will be first of its kind in the world as no other country has introduced such a scheme so far.” Rahul Gandhi was speaking at the ‘Kisaan Abhaar Sammelan’ in Chhattisgarh. The event was organised by the Congress to express gratitude to the people of Chhattisgarh, especially the farmers, for voting the grand old party to power.
Rahul Gandhi seems to be trying hard to sell this populist promise. Urging the people to bring the Grand Old Party to power, he said, “We will do this (implement Universal Basic Income) in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and all other states as well. For the first time, Congress is going to implement this historic decision. All you have to do is to give us an opportunity.” The Gandhi scion even tweeted, “We cannot build a new India while millions of our brothers & sisters suffer the scourge of poverty. If voted to power in 2019, the Congress is committed to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person, to help eradicate poverty & hunger. This is our vision & our promise.”
We cannot build a new India while millions of our brothers & sisters suffer the scourge of poverty.
If voted to power in 2019, the Congress is committed to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person, to help eradicate poverty & hunger.
This is our vision & our promise.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 28, 2019
The Congress supremo made this overambitious promise without giving any insight into his strategy to implement it. The UBI, if introduced, would create heavy pressure on the state exchequer. But Rahul Gandhi seems to have no idea about how he would manage the finances for the Universal Basic Income if the Congress is actually voted to power on this promise. He does not seem to have even a plan for its implementation. Even if we forget about the hurdles in financing such an ambitious scheme, the fact remains that implementing the Universal Basic Income scheme is not going to be a cakewalk either. The scheme might be vulnerable to leakages and other impediments and Rahul Gandhi has no clue how to deal with them.
This empty promise is in line with the recent trend of the Congress promising big and then simply failing to deliver on them. In the run-up to the Karnataka polls, Congress-JD(S) alliance came to power in the state and after that, the coalition government simply made a mockery of farm loan waiver. Till December last year, only 800 farmers in the state benefitted from the farm loan waiver worth 44,000 crore rupees. This was nothing but a cruel joke on part of the incumbent government. We have also witnessed what happened in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the name of farm loan waivers. The Congress president had promised farm loan waivers in these states and massive irregularities surfaced shortly after the announcement of the scheme.
In such circumstances, it would be imprudent to believe what Rahul Gandhi is promising. If the track record of the Congress is anything to go by, the promise of Universal Basic Income is nothing but yet another ploy by the Congress to mislead the electorate into voting for the Congress party. The Universal Basic Income which came to light after the Economic Survey 2016-17 is an intricate concept. It is doubtful if Rahul Gandhi even understands what it actually means. This is a political stunt on the part of the Congress with the Lok Sabha elections round the corner.