The idea of floating Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), an all-India political party, was hanging in the air for some time now. It was finally launched on October 5.
By JR Janumpalli
The idea of floating Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), an all-India political party, was hanging in the air for some time now. It was finally launched on October 5. The idea could be executed because the national parties such as Congress and BJP, who have been ruling the country, have lost their federal character. Several regional parties in States have emerged in the last several years, creating a political confusion in the country. But the last eight years of BJP’s rule in the country and the rapid weakening of Congress during this period have exposed a political vacuum. The BRS can fill this vacuum.
The Congress has been reduced to a shadow of its former self and has its governments only in a few States. The BJP came to power at the Centre in the name of NDA and has grown into a political leviathan. It has its own or participating governments in most States, which have become the extensions of the BJP-led Central government. The non-BJP State governments are at the receiving end and have been subjected to the dictates of the Central BJP government.
It has upset the federal nature of the relationship between the Central and State governments, which was the arrangement of the Constitution. In that context, the idea of BRS is the concept of a national party that can act as a federal national political party. In that the national party can think, plan and strategise to achieve inclusive national development. The State units can do it for the States and the plans are dovetailed into national plans, reviving the federal relationship between the Centre and States, as intended by the Constitution.
If we review the working of the BJP-led Central government in the last eight years, we will know the inferences. The overall performance of the nation is going down continuously from 2014, when it came to power. Its GDP growth rate and per capita GDP growth rate, apart from many other national indices, are on the decline. The focus of the party is winning elections or manipulating other political parties in the States to extend its political power as much as possible. The budget-making and equitable distribution of central funds to the States have problems. Even in the world democracy index, the country is sliding.
The debate of the party is not on economic development — of improving the nation’s economy, improving the economic lot to States, or monitoring and evaluating the progress of backward States. The debate is on the past governments, past history and controversial historical incidents, which were asked to be closed by the Supreme Court. Majority nationalism and the non-implementable citizenship Acts, National Registers etc. The reforms are not on the issues agreed upon in Parliament by discussion or on the national need, but on their political goals, which, of course, have not reached their logical end. The grandiose schemes/projects are mostly either aborted in the beginning or struggling to go forward because of the lack of comprehension and holistic approach.
The Central administration is micro-managing the States, foisting the elections, trying to win the elections to spread its religious ideology, and is not focused on economic growth and overall development. The Planning Commission, which was semi-autonomous, was scrapped and made fully political in the name of reforms, with the so-called Niti Aayog which has not shown any improvement over the earlier. The terms of reference of Financial Commissions have not changed much. The funds are distributed in a routine manner without evaluating the progress made by the States receiving the larger funds in earlier years. The share of States gets reduced. The so-called poor States are staying poor and continue to get the Center’s gratis. The good States give more and get less as usual as though they are penalised for their good performance.
Like always, some seven-eight States contribute high central taxes to the Centre, which are to be distributed to other States in the name of Central devolution and grants. In this too, is not because of any proactive economic inducements by the Centre. It is because of the States’ inherent economic strengths that they do better. It is only States like Telangana that are punching stronger than their weight despite receiving much less than what they are contributing to the Centre. But the flagship BJP States of UP and MP, among others, continue to garner the major share of Central devolution and grants. There has been no change in the economic weight of these States in the last eight years of the BJP rule.
The principal opposition, Congress, is in a weak position because of its internecine squabbles and lack of energetic and committed leadership at its helm. The ruling BJP is not doing good for the nation. In such circumstances, there is a big scope for a third national party, which can take their position to guide the nation forward with a progressive federal economic development plan, which is awfully lacking now. In that, the BRS, launched by KCR, seems to have the necessary credentials to fill that vacuum. KCR has fought for the creation of Telangana State and, in the last eight years as CM of Telangana, has moulded the State into a frontrunner with prudential management of its finances and implementing of a comprehensive development programme, making the State’s net worth better than any other State. All this was done despite the non-cooperation and the deliberate financial squeeze by the Centre because of its political rivalry.
KCR has toured the nation, met several State and national leaders and discussed strategies for the nation’s comprehensive rapid economic development with subject-matter specialists. His idea is not to just celebrate the 3.5-trillion economy (6) and continue to gloss over $2,500 PCI (160). It is to take India to a middle-level PCI like $10,000 in a short span, to make its economic development meaningful. If it catches the imagination of the people and political leaders across the country, it can be a game-changer for India, like the TRS was for Telangana.