It maybe called 'justice', but will people agree?

"With voting for the 2019 general elections barely two weeks away, we are entering a dangerous period where politicians will promise the voter anything to get elected," wrote R Jagannathan. On 25 March, Mr Rahul Gandhi promised Rs 72,000 per year to 50 million poorest households in India, at a cost of Rs 3.6 trillion or about 1.7% of projected GDP of Rs 210 trillion in 2019-20. The acronym for the scheme, NYAY, means 'justice'. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley dismissed Gandhi's announcement as "complete eyewash", saying, "If all welfare schemes, including MNREGA, Ayushman Bharat, fertiliser subsidy, are added, the government would be spending Rs 7.8 lakh crore (trillion)....the beneficiary is already getting larger sum but they are just coming from eight different cheques." Confession indeed. We do not know if he has counted all 18 schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power, or the new scheme of Rs 6,000 per year to farmers possessing less than 2 hectares of land, which constitute 86.21% of all landholdings. "Rs 72,000 will be provided to 5 crore (50 million) of the poorest families of the country. This is not a top-up scheme as all 20% families will be given Rs 72,000 per year," explained Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. This scheme will not eradicate poverty because what the country needs are productive jobs that pay living wages, wrote M Sabharwal. "We were engaged in this work for six months. Take the list of all big economists of the world, we consulted them....Raghuram Rajan....one by one," Gandhi hit back. A survey by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) showed that the labor force participation rate (LFPR) "which measures the proportion of population aged 15-64 that is currently employed or seeking employment, fell to 49.8% in 2017-18 from 55.9% in 2011-12, when the NSSO last carried out the same study". The LFPR for women has dropped from 42.7% in 2004-05 to a dismal 23.3% last year, compared to 79.9% in Nepal and 57.4% in Bangladesh. If politicians have courage NYAY "could be redemptive, not just for the poor but for the entire nation. Minus the needed courage, the policy would be a disastrous folly", wrote TK Arun. Why the need for courage? Because, those who avail of this scheme should be asked to pay for their electricity and buy food at market price. That will help farmers and reduce subsidy bills on minimum support price and MNREGA. How will the 50 million households be selected? Those left out will surely be enraged. What if a man has 4 wives and 5 children from each wife? Is that one household or four? The scheme maybe called 'justice' but a lot of people may see this as grave injustice. However, by then elections will be over.