Congress uses free-food Bill as fodder
Disgraceful as it may be, it is not surprising that the Congress-led UPA regime sought to pass the crucial but controversial National Food Security Bill at a time when it itself is under attack from the Opposition over several corruption-related issues. The Bill was slyly tabled in the lok Sabha on Monday and then opened to debate by senior Congress leader Girija Vyas who was in the Chair, even as Opposition MPs were in the well of the House demanding the resignation of high-level Ministers. This caught everyone off guard — much like it had in the Monsoon Session of Parliament last year when the Government brought out the contentious legislation allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. At that time, irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks had just been revealed by the Comptroller and Auditor-General; the nation was outraged and the Opposition was up in arms when a surreptitious UPA regime took advantage of the disruptions and slipped the Bill on FDI through Parliament. Now months later, the Government is again faced with Opposition ire over several issues —the CBI chief has pointed to regime interference in its report on the coal scam, Rail Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew has been exposed in a bribery scandal, and there is widespread anger over the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Parliament is in uproar and the atmosphere is far from conducive for the kind of considered and thorough debate that is necessary before legislation as vital as the National Food Security Bill can be endorsed. In its present form, the Bill targets almost 70 per cent of the population and will cost the exchequer an estimated Rs1.25 lakh crore annually. It has already come in for criticism not just from the Opposition but also from the Agriculture and the Finance Ministries. If it is implemented without adequate changes, it is bound to become the next big cash cow for corrupt Government functionaries — much like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Unfortunately, it does not look like the Congress is bothered about the long-term feasibility of the project. All that it cares about is that, in the short term, a scheme such as this, which aims to hand out food for free to millions, will get it the votes it desperately needs in the upcoming election that will be marked by a strong anti-incumbency sentiment. Such a populist strategy, presented in the garb of social welfare, had helped the party ride to power in 2009 when it promised guaranteed jobs through the MGNREGA. However, in the years since then the scheme is ridden with corruption. And this is not even to mention the disastrous effect it has had on state resources. If not properly vetted, the food security Bill will also have the same kind of devastating impact. But not only has the Congress sought to dismiss the entire process of debate, it has even accused the Opposition — which made clear it will not tolerate any of the ruling party's shenanigans — of being ‘anti-poor’ for holding up the Bill. In the process, it had hoped to turn the spotlight on the Opposition and distract attention from the skeletons that keep tumbling out of its own closet with alarming frequency. Instead, the Congress has only laid bare its own fears, follies and desperation.