‘Ensure Equitable Distribution Of Wealth’

On June 4, the people of India will have decided upon our next government. Whatever be the outcome, India will face challenges that need to be urgently addressed.

The last 10 years of the BJP government have been rather controversial. While there has been a forward movement in the digital economy, the fruits of that are shared mainly by the rich and the powerful. Banking institutions, foreign entities, capital markets where the digital economy brings in profits are cheerleaders hoping for a further push in this regard.

There have been other positives like capital investment in infrastructure such as building of highways which essentially are a continuum from the previous years. The programmes for providing drinking water to every household, houses for the poor etc. are also welcome. Having said that, the rich have become richer, the billionaires have multiplied and a mere 1% of the people own about 40% of the country’s total wealth.
 
Empower the Citizen

The task for the new government will be to ensure, one, equitable distribution of wealth and, two, empowerment of the citizens through education and healthcare. These are the two attributes without which no country has achieved economic prosperity. In this regard, the previous government performed rather poorly. Investment in human capital brings unprecedented results as it empowers the young, gives them space to participate in the economic progress of the country and also results in social transformation. A very small percentage of our children who pass Class 12 enter universities. Even those who do find themselves relatively jobless after obtaining a degree or a certification of some sort.

The unprecedented levels of unemployment have also resulted in social unrest. The political class occasionally uses it for agendas that are divisive. The education system needs a complete overhaul. It needs to be child centric. The only way to do this is to invest in education, to produce quality teachers for the empowerment of the children along with a complete overhaul of the curriculum to make it output-oriented, inculcating in the minds of the young a scientific temper. While investment in infrastructure is to be welcomed, investment in human capital needs to be prioritised. Empowering the girl child should be at the forefront of our agenda for social transformation.

The nature of politics today is to persuade an elector to vote in favour of a particular political party by the showering of benefits instead of empowering the voter. The fact that the government needed to launch programmes for providing five kilogrammes of food grains to the poor is a recognition of the abysmal levels of poverty prevalent in India. The fact that 800 million people earn less than Rs 10,000 a month is a matter of great concern. Therefore, the way to address the issue of poverty is to ensure that strategic investments are made in the area of skill development and that the industrial economy becomes an active participant in the development of human skills for the purposes of creating employment opportunities.

While the world is moving towards artificial intelligence (AI), India, as a nation, cannot lag behind. At the same time, we must accept the reality that embracing AI in every sector of the economy where the job market is still aflush, will lead to loss of jobs. Therefore, it is important to embrace AI for economic development. So is skilling our young to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The fact that almost 60% of our GDP comes from the service economy; both manufacturing and the agricultural sectors have not seen any substantial expansion. In fact, without an exponential increase in exports, there is very little possibility for the manufacturing sector to create jobs. Agriculture is not able to sustain the increasing population in rural areas resulting in 40% of our labour force migrating from one state to another in search of jobs.

Tackling Defections

On the legal front, we need to do away with the Tenth Schedule [of the Constitution] which has been unsuccessful in dealing with defections. In fact, even the amended provisions are being misused for the purposes of perpetuating power. The presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as the Governors of states need to disassociate themselves from the political party to which they belong, once they enter upon their respective offices.

With the Tenth Schedule being out of the way, there should be a constitutional provision which stipulates that an elected member is entitled to shift their allegiance to a political party other than the one on whose symbol they were elected but will not be entitled either to hold public office or to contest elections for the next five years. This will ensure that those who shift their allegiance are genuine dissenters and are not doing so for the greed of power. 

Freeing up Law Enforcers

Massive police reforms are also necessary to ensure that the police do not collaborate with the party in power for favouring its political agendas. Of even greater concern is the manner in which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation have been misused in the past 10 years to target opposition leaders and governments, including bureaucrats who serve those governments. This not only destabilises the administration in the state but also instils fear in the minds of bureaucrats, politicians and others.

The misuse of ED and the UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act] which was not meant to target dissenters, including journalists and students, is a matter of concern. These laws need to be amended. Criminal offences need to be clearly defined so that citizens are aware that if they transgress laws, they will be dealt with accordingly.

The issue of corruption in the political class and the bureaucracy also needs to be addressed. This will require re-thinking on the structure which needs to be crafted for the purposes of dealing with the menace of corruption, especially in high places and those holding public offices.

The law of bail is again being misused pursuant to onerous conditions which are conditions precedent for the purpose of grant of bail under several laws. This too needs to be addressed.

The entire criminal jurisprudence of this country needs a relook since it is the legacy of the colonial era.

The challenges are enormous but wisdom within the political class is a scarce commodity. We only hope that the electors choose wisely. 

Kapil Sibal is member of the Rajya Sabha and a senior lawyer