When PM Modi speaks Mann ki Baat, without hearing what we want to say
Prime Minister Narendra Modi can hear only his “mann ki baat”, while his followers pass that off as the voice of the rest of India.
Speaking to hear his own voice, the prime minister on Sunday once again managed to get away with his (unsubstantiated) claims - received with a roaring applause.
But does he even need to do that anymore? It’s a well-expected and accepted fact that whatever Narendra Modi says has to be true. No, you don’t have the option to either agree or disagree because nobody’s asking you — the ordinary citizen.
Since the prime minister speaks for all of us, on his last Mann ki Baat of the year, he claimed that the poor and exploited will no longer be victims of middlemen following the demonetisation drive.
But who are these poor and exploited? Are these tax dodgers or black money hoarders? No. Because it’s the tax dodgers who won’t need the much-maligned middlemen any longer with the revisions introduced in taxation laws, giving them another golden opportunity to turn their black money into white (the previous opportunity ended in September).
According to the government, the money generated from the disclosure of unaccounted cash under the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill 2016 - which although has higher taxes and a stiffer penalty of up to 50 per cent with respect to those found to be involved in the conversion of black money into white - will be used for welfare schemes. The tax and penalty would go up to 85 per cent in case a person doesn’t declare his illegal wealth and is caught by tax authorities.
What does that mean: one can get away with black money by coughing up some more money. That’s all?
The declarations will be kept confidential. Compare this with the RBI’s notification of December 19 (which was revised the day after following widespread criticism). Anyone depositing more than Rs 5,000 in old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes was forced to clarify and convince two bank officials as to why this (huge) amount was not declared/deposited till now. Yes, we very well understand the need to interrogate the honest citizens while those with the real stash of black money could get away with just paying some extra tax. How convenient is that!
In his patronising tone, the prime minister again claimed that labour exploitation won't happen anymore. Really, how? He claimed that with the money going straight into the bank, exploitation would end, and workers and daily wage earners would get their money without anyone taking cuts.
Such utopia exists only in tiringly-long-to-hear speeches or some cheesy Bollywood flick where everyone believes "hum saath saath hain", and is happy.
The PM claimed that in recent weeks, cashless transactions have increased by 200-300 per cent. "Everyone wants to learn from each other what is cashless. They are telling each other, 'You know how you use WhatsApp? This is similar'. People are educating fellow citizens.”
Yes, Sir. You are so right. Forget about their familiarity with smartphones and PM’s digital India, do these unfortunate “fellow citizens” even have the money to buy a simple button phone and know how to operate one? Most cycle-rickshaw pullers, househelp and vegetable vendors with button phones I have come across just know how to answer phone calls. They can’t even save a number, and you expect them to make online payments?
And even if we assume they have access to smartphones, where is the internet connectivity. Is it available for free to everyone in every nook and cranny of India? Even those who have the money and the means to go cashless are struggling to make cashless payments with all the servers jammed. Show me one person who hasn’t faced a similar situation and the frustration accompanied by that in the last 40 days.
And we are not even talking about the threat of hacking yet. Just two months ago, 3.2 million debit cards were compromised in India’s biggest-ever breach of financial data.Another strange claim (which has been pointed out by many) is the record number of Jan Dhan accounts. If only numbers could make the poor count in the government’s scheme of things.
On Sunday, the PM also countered criticism against the frequent change of rules, saying: "Lots of questions are being raised on the frequent change of rules but I want to say that I have decided to take on those indulging in corruption (and therefore) and this is necessary."
It was for the people’s benefit - that was his justification. And why not? Only problem is it sounded so much like some stereotypical Mumbai underworld don’s stooge saying, “Bhai ne bol diya toh bol diya.”
And now the biggest irony - the PM announced two digital payment promotion schemes: Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana for small traders.
"This scheme will last for 100 days (from Sunday). As such lakhs of people will get crores of rupees," he said.
The announcement reminds of those innumerable scratch-and-win contests used by detergent powder companies and others to lure consumers. It is difficult not to notice the similarity since both promise to help you maintain your sparkling clean image.