Electrifying concept

This must have been worrying a variety of Indian politicians: arbitrary quotas are one form of state largesse and economic subsidies are another, but how does one marry the two to achieve that perfect electoral bribe? The Punjab government, as reported in this newspaper, has found the answer. Power, up to 200 units, will be free for all Scheduled Caste consumers. Some of them may be seriously rich, more may be middle class, but the Amarinder Singh government will not let such trivia as capacity to pay come in the way of an electrifying concept of social justice. Almost 10 lakh of Punjab’s 40 lakh consumers are SCs, and Captain Singh, facing polls next year, has calculated that his opponents, the Akalis, may not be able to criticise him on this count.

Captain Singh may be right. But he must also remember the example of Rajkumari Bhattal, his Congress colleague — though not exactly a well-wisher — who had tried to buck anti-incumbency via similar populist magnificence. Bhattal had lost. But whether Singh is luckier or not is beside the point where serious policymaking is concerned. The PMO’s reported unhappiness with this plan must be communicated so strongly that the Punjab CM reckons that he has a choice between pre-election gimmicks and blotting his CV in a damaging way as far as the Congress top leadership goes.

Anything short of severe censure plus an effective fund freeze will probably not stop the Punjab CM and a dreadful precedent will have been then set. Karunanidhi brought colour TVs under government subsidies. Singh wants to put subsidised running of airconditioners in that list. It is bad enough that so few politicians understand or admit how close the economy is to a power deficit constraint and how vital economic pricing of power is in that context. The Centre has not done enough to aggressively push power reforms. But it can at least hold back the worst of the populists.