‘Over the past decade, India has witnessed healthy redistribution of the good kind — from the poor and middle classes to the billionaire elite’
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It’s shocking how the Election Commission (EC) has become a mute spectator to repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct, even when the violators are trying every trick to sow divisions between the majority and the minority. Yes, I am talking about the Congress and how its starriest campaigner has been allowed to go around promoting disaffection between the country’s biggest majority (the poor) and the smallest minority (the rich). Not satisfied with fanning resentment between the two, the Congress has gone a step further by openly talking about wealth redistribution — the socialist equivalent of Pearl Harbour.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am no genius at economics, nor do I have the beautiful mathematical mind of a Russell Crowe. But all said and done, economics is not rocket science, or even science. Some of you may have seen this popular economics column called ‘No proof is required, hence proved’. I’d say that’s a pithy summary of how intelligent people should approach economic questions such as wealth redistribution. So, I’m going to clear the air on the redistribution debate by relying on my own economic common sense and mathematical prowess instead of turning to overrated experts. So, bear with me and you shall be rewarded with unprecedented insights.

On the key question, let’s be clear: wealth redistribution happens all the time. Regardless of which party is in power. But there are two kinds of wealth redistribution. There is the good kind, which promotes social stability by locking everyone in their designated place in the social order, just like in the caste system. Then there is the bad kind, which disrupts the traditional social order by increasing unnecessary social mobility between different rungs of the class ladder. 

The poor are happy

Over the past decade, India has witnessed healthy redistribution of the good kind — from the poor and middle classes to the billionaire elite. Till date, all evidence points to everyone being happy with this arrangement. The rich are happy — obviously, because they have gotten richer. And the poor are happy, because they have got a temple, plus the sense of belonging that comes with being part of a WhatsApp group. What more do the poor need to keep up with their identity of being poor?

This column is a satirical take on life and society.

However, this arrangement is now under threat from the Congress’ proposal to redistribute wealth in the reverse direction — from the rich to the poor and middle classes. First of all, this is against the laws of nature — if it weren’t, there would be no inequality in the world and your uncle would be as rich as Elon Musk (without actually being Elon Musk). Secondly, the very idea is petty and downright insulting, to the country’s millions of non-HNIs.

Why does the Congress think so little of the toiling masses that have successfully sustained the nation’s privileged elite for millennia? As per the World Inequality Database, India’s top 1% (the wealthiest) own just 40.1% of all wealth. If my calculations are right, then that’s not even half the country’s wealth. This means most of the nation’s wealth — 59.9% — is already in the hands of the majority (the 99%). India has a population of 140 crore (source: PM’s speeches). Now, 1% of that is 1.40 crore. 140 crore minus 1.40 crore is — I dare any economist to tell me I’m wrong — 138.60 crore. Can anyone seriously argue that 138.60 crore people can’t support 1.40 crore people? But that’s exactly what the Congress party’s ‘revolutionary’ manifesto is suggesting! Why? It’s simple: they want to fill the hearts and minds of the poor with resentments against the rich. 

Obsession with unemployment

This whole rich-poor rhetoric is so 1960s, it’s ridiculous. Same goes for the Congress campaign’s obsession with unemployment. Who in their right mind talks about jobs in the age of AI and entrepreneurship? Today, every Indian, be they rich or poor, aspires to be a wealth creator, not a job-seeker. That’s why the Congress banging on about so-called joblessness is despicable. It’s nothing but a desperate bid to garner votes by polarising the electorate into employment-seekers and employment-deniers. If this is not a clear-cut case of hate speech against the nation’s wealthy minority, I don’t know what is. 

And yet, the EC is reluctant to stop politicians from making incendiary references to redistribution and jobs. Let’s hope better sense prevails soon and it clamps down on this phenomenon with the same alacrity with which it has cracked down on communal rhetoric.

The author of this satire is Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

sampath.g@thehindu.co.in

New Delhi:

Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress Saturday morning – a day after the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections – and claimed that there were “foreign forces” involved in preparing the poll manifesto of the opposition party.

“In the Congress manifesto, along with the hand of the Congress, hands of foreign forces are also visible who want to give your children’s property to Muslims, finish the nations nuclear weapons, divide the nation on casteism and regionalism,” Mr Thakur said at a rally in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur.

“The tukde-tukde gang has surrounded Congress completely and has hijacked their ideology. You have to decide whether the children’s property should remain with them or should it go to Muslims. We gave all rights to Muslims, equally. But we did not give it based on religion, we gave it because it was their right,” he added.

#WATCH | Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh: Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, “In the Congress manifesto, along with the hand of the Congress, hands of foreign forces are also visible who want to give your children’s property to Muslims, finish the nations nuclear weapons, divide the… pic.twitter.com/3dxJE6avvz

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2024

The attack follows fierce sparring between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top Opposition leaders over claims that the Congress will seize the wealth of Indians and distribute it among Muslims. At rallies in Rajasthan’s Tonk and Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, the PM alleged that the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government had said Muslims have the first right to the country’s wealth.

The remarks have sparked a massive row, with one section criticising the Prime Minister for using expressions such as “infiltrators” for Muslims, and another section slamming Dr Singh over his alleged remarks.

In a five-minute video message posted on the BJP’s X handle yesterday, BJP party chief JP Nadda also repeated controversial sections from the Prime Minister’s Rajasthan speech – in which he referred to Muslims and said the Congress plans to “redistribute wealth to infiltrators” – and said, “Congress says Muslims have first right on country’s resources, whereas PM Modi says poor people must have the first right…”

“BJP does not want Muslims to be neglected… but they should not take undue advantage at expense of others,” Mr Nadda declared, as he slammed the Congress for “appeasement politics” and claimed such practices were evident in its manifesto – which the PM called a “Muslim League imprint”.

Mr Thakur and Mr Nadda’s remarks come just days after the Election Commission sent a notice to the party based on a complaint by the Congress against the Prime Minister, alleging he made divisive remarks during his Rajasthan speech. The notice – in a significant first – said party bosses would be held accountable for Model Code violations in campaign speeches and materials.

The poll panel sent a nearly identical notice to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, after the BJP filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, claiming he had made “obnoxious utterances” against Mr Modi.

In a two-page statement – which did not name either the Prime Minister or Mr Gandhi but included copies of the complaints – the poll body said “‘star campaigners’ are expected to contribute to a higher quality of discourse… which sometimes gets distorted in the heat of contests at local level”.

New Delhi:

Hitting back at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their claims that his party intends to redistribute wealth and that even women’s ‘mangalsutras’ were under threat, Congress leader P Chidambaram has challenged them to show even one mention of any such promise in the manifesto. 

Mr Chidambaram also said such claims were possibly being made because his party’s manifesto was a well-considered one while the BJP’s was a document of cult worship. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Wednesday, the head of Congress’ manifesto committee, said, “All that the BJP has been saying for the past three or four days, especially from the Prime Minister downwards, is absolute rubbish. Show me one word called redistribution anywhere in the manifesto, which runs to 45 pages. Show me the phrase ‘ redistribute the wealth’ anywhere. Unless they are reading a manifesto written by ghosts, hired by the BJP, in invisible ink; it’s not in our manifesto.”

To a question on Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Overseas Congress, stirring up a controversy by terming the inheritance law in the US “interesting”, the former finance minister only said that it does not appear in the manifesto and that he himself had not spoken about it. 

‘Completely Imaginary’

On the PM’s claim that the Congress planned to give reservation to Muslims at the expense of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, Mr Chidambaram said, “Where is that in the manifesto? All the statements made by the BJP leaders in the last four days are completely imaginary. They must show where this is in the manifesto. I have been challenging them publicly.”

The former finance minister asserted that the Congress has done its math and is confident that every promise made in its manifesto can be fulfilled over the term of a government.

“Last time, when we said we would waive agricultural loans, we were ridiculed and told that there is no money, but our government waived such loans to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore. When we started the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, we were again asked, ‘Where is the money?’, but we implemented it and the BJP has continued it. We found the money for it, and so has the BJP,” he said.

Emphasising that the Congress manifesto, which promises justice to different sections of society, is being talked about across the country, he said the BJP’s document is not even a manifesto but is called ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’.

“In fact, the entire document is cult worship. They have nothing comparable to our programme, our promises. Our manifesto has become the talking point throughout India. Unfortunately, the BJP’s ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ vanished without a trace in about two hours. Therefore, they are inventing imaginary stories and attacking us,” he said.