KARNATAKA CONGRESS'S GUARANTEES AND GROANING OF COMMON MAN - BY VISMAHI

 

Poll promises in Karnataka by Congress party in the name of 'Guarantees' and unprecedented victory over the most popular party, BJP based on Guarantees in assembly election is new to Karnataka. A question arises on the larger interest of the country and the state, that these freebies complimenting the growth or just poll gimmicks by putting the economy in danger? The question is larger and I am not going to dig in to that, let’s look at the confusions and common man's groaning because of the poll promise of free electricity alone and its implementation.

 The five Promises are:

1. 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti)
2. Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi)
3. 10 kilograms of rice free to every member of a below poverty line (BPL) household (Anna Bhagya)
4. Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders aged 18-25 for two years (YuvaNidhi)
5. Free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti)

Conditions on Guarantees and Confusions:

 All these poll promises made before the election without any pre-conditions. However, recently several conditions and procedures are laid down in order to avail the benefit. The confusion arose over the conditions by the government. As per the news reports the below calculation and charges will be claimed in the month of June-2023.

 “A tariff order, which was passed on May 12, stated that the approved 70 paise per unit hike had to be claimed in June. Along with this, arrears of 70 paise for April will also be added to the bill for June. Hence, there will be a tariff increase of ₹2.89 per unit this month”

 “Due to many technical reasons, the FPPCA could not be recovered in March and the rules had provided the power to do the same. It cannot be deferred anymore now as the rules do not allow. Hence it will be collected,” said Ravikumar P., chairman, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC)” - From thehindu.Com (04^th June, 2023)

 The confusion No.1, increase in Cost of Living:

 June month electricity bill is not yet generated and already 100 to 500 or more arrears are reflecting in the bill for the  month of April and May. Some of the households got the electricity bill for the month of June, there is increase of electricity bill almost 100% compared to last month bill. One of my neighbors got the electricity bill of Rs.1700 against the last month and previous month bills of Rs. 700. It is a shocking adjustment to pave way for the 'Griha Jyothi' 200 free unit scheme. The increase may have ripple effect on all services, goods and several end-products. The living cost is suddenly increased to almost double without giving a time to adjust or cope-up. A poor guy may get 200 units free electricity, however for other services and goods he will land up in paying more than he is saving.  The consumer goods, other household and food items which production is dependent on electricity will be hit by the tariff change. The cost of all these goods will obviously increase. How the government will manage this challenge is a big question.

 The confusion No.2, Increase in cost of paying Guest (PG)/Hotels/Lodges:

 In Bangalore most of the students, Single Women/Men reside in PG accommodation. The services in PG managed on electricity. For example the facilities like Water heater, washing machine, cooking food, ironing, etc. Due to increase in electricity tariff the cost of PG accommodation may increase and it could be a burden on these category people who are mostly dependent on PG. It is also an unavoidable business decision for these owners and it may affect their ROI. It applies to even hotels and lodges, the tariff of food and accommodation may increase.

 The confusion No.3, Leisure and Entertainment will be dearer :

 Today's generation, it may be poor or rich the people prefer to shop in malls. After the electricity bill tariff the dazzling malls, movie halls may face lesser crowd as the tariff change in electricity bills may reflect in the products and service they offer. It will not be a surprise if people stay away from shopping and malls which may affect Karnataka economy adversely.

 The confusion No.4, transportation and electric vehicles :

 Already there is a displeasure in the taxi and auto drivers; because of free bus for women they are now facing 50 to 60 percent decrease in their income. Because of increase in electricity tariff EV vehicle owners are in dilemma as the charging cost may increase enormously. Karnataka freebies and increase in electricity tariff may not complement to India's commitment to decrease carbon footprint. The freebies should be provided to the citizens, no doubt about it. However, on what cost? People pay taxes from their own earning which adds up to 40 to 50 percent including GST, Road tax, entertainment tax, service tax, innumerable taxes, it is inevitable even if one comes under income tax radar or not.

 Freebies should be provided with substantial, self sustained plans rather than burdening the taxpaying common man. At the end of the day government considers the taxpaying crowd as well-off and don't consider or include them in state sponsored schemes. The people who pay tax promptly feel left out, neither here nor there.

 The confusion No.5 : How about metro trains which run on electricity?

 People are worried even the metro trains in Bengaluru run on electricity, because of increased tariff the metro ride may also be dearer. The freebies of the government should not be a burden on the people while implementing them. In one hand it looks helpful and in another it is a burden.

 What can be done:

 The governments must facilitate people who are contributing to revenue, economy and growth of the state with some basic facilities. The faculties in any form should be self sustainable and not a burden on state's exchequer.

 Free Electricity:

When it comes to providing free electricity, the government can freely or in a subsidized form provide wind or solar power generation installations to households. It helps people reduce their burden of electricity bill as well as contributing to green energy. No need to increase power tariff and saving lot of power which can be used for other bigger projects like Metro trains.

 Free Food or Food items:

If government wants to provide free food, there are many ways to provide food instead of providing free ration. Free ration may reach them or may not. Or it can be used in a different way than utilizing for the family.

 - Use Akshaya Patra or any other NGO area wise, provide minimum fund support as these are NGOs already working for social cause. Can provide food to lakhs of people and it can continue the work no matter what party is in power. 

Lets hope these freebies may help the people of Karnataka and not a burden on our pockets.

 By

Vismahi- Vijay G

TEMPLE OF JUSTICE AND GUIDING ANGELS OF SOCIETY

 

Humans are the most optimistic living beings on earth and HOPE is the fundamental nature that humans relied upon to set-up an ideal and happy society. Since centuries human beings especially Indians gradually built the societies systematically to comfort the members of the family and to lead a happy life. Developed the culture, traditions and social structures for amicable living with other groups of families. societies developed into villages, cities, kingdoms and modern countries. In the meantime, social rituals, traditions, norms, rules, regulations, punishments for crime are being developed since centuries. Vedas, religious scripts and practices are the base for the social structure  in the Indian continent. Sages and Gurus were the guiding source of the society, and were worshiped like gods in the earlier eras, hence an uncanny resemblance is there to the title of this article.

 Though the world has changed, modernized and scientific, hope and belief are still the essential part of the healthy society for humans. People visit Temples, Churches, Gurudwaras or Mosques as the last resort and pray to the god to save them from the misery. For democracy like India, the constitution and Courts are the final hope for the needy. I believe, our modern courts are the temples of justice, guided by judges who are nothing but guiding angels for the victims of the injustice in the society. 

Common man, Conflicts and governance

Evolution is constant, countries develop rapidly with technology and methods of governance. Compare to the 1900 AD and before, current world has different aspirations and challenges. A very little time humans took to turn the NEED in to GREED. Hence the challenges also grown with time.

Countries evolved themselves with all the skills to compete and grow to provide essentials like food, social and financial protection for their citizens. Countries developed their won constitution, code of conducts, governance, Law and orders etc., to meet the challenges.  Large countries like India with vast geographical setup,  it would be a challenge for the governments to regulate and govern. The systems like Legislature, executive and judiciary are the pillars of democracy and part of the society for a better living. Judiciary being the guiding source for all when other two fail. A recent instance where court took cognizance and advised government.

 Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri S A Bobde told WhatsApp:

"You may be two or three trillion-dollar companies, but people value their privacy more than money," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde told WhatsApp.

 The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and WhatsApp to reply to a fresh plea alleging lower standards of privacy for Indians in comparison to European users, saying, "it is the duty of the judiciary to protect citizens' privacy." "People have grave apprehensions that they will lose their privacy, and it is our duty to protect them," the top court said. 

 Countries developed economically, socially by welcoming globalization. The conflicts between human beings also grown. Conflicts in public life, conflicts in society, conflicts in social life, conflicts in family, conflicts between husband and wife,etc. Earlier Panchayats headed by the village leaders  were the authority to intervene and find a resolution for all these conflicts. The resolutions were most of the time used to be ad hoc and purely on the basis of the Panchayat head's discretion.

 There was no scientific or systematic approach to solve such conflicts, people relied purely on the basis of the face value of the head of the Panchayat or such kind of age-old system. The system and approach was ambiguous, uncertain and had space for confusions in the resolutions.

 Modern world is capable of handling any such conflicts with certainty through meticulously and scientifically built  systems. In India the constitution is the sacred document which is the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. Constitution drafted by the scholarly personalities like Dr. B R Ambedkar and the team, which is adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949. The constitution replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. The constitution has empowered the common man by guaranteeing the fundamental rights under Article 14, 15, 19, 21 and judiciary being the guiding source in protecting the rights of the citizens.

Preserving sanctity of Constitution 

By delivering justice, Indian judicial system is upholding the sanctity of the Constitution in India. Being the constitutional authority, judiciary keeps an eye on every matter in the country for the welfare of country and it's citizens  by always guiding the government and public to follow the guidelines according to the law of the land and constitution.

 “The Supreme Court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. Its exclusive original jurisdiction extends to any dispute between the Government of India and one or more States or between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more States on the other or between two or more States, if and insofar as the dispute involves any question (whether of law or of fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends. In addition, Article 32 of the Constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court with regard to enforcement of Fundamental Rights”- Supreme Court of India.

We can see example that the court strongly pitch-in for the citizens welfare suo moto, “Observing that the gory killing of advocate couple practicing at Telangana High Court as “most unfortunate”, Chief Justice Hima Kohli issued suo motu notices to the State government on the matter.” - The Hindu

 GUIDING ANGELS OF OUR SOCIETY; JUDGES

 As discussed earlier, India is an optimistic country and rose gloriously like Phoenix from ashes every time against the atrocities. She was abused, looted and attacked barbarically by the Mughals, Dutch, French and English. Every time she rose stronger than ever. With hope and optimism, now India is the fastest growing economy, the force behind this hope and optimism is the constitution of India which provides equal opportunity to everyone to grow. Courts and Judges are the guiding force for the country wherever needed. 

 In the modern world, people are facing conflicts everywhere, even the misunderstandings between husband and wife are seen as conflicts and require intervention of a competitive authority. Common man looks up to the courts as the final resort and has enormous faith on the system. Courts are highly regarded for unambiguous, transparent and impartial judgments and verdicts in India.

Historical court observation on old-age people:

Hearing a divorce appeal between a couple from Karnataka, the Supreme Court said that persistent effort of the wife to constrain the husband to be separated from the family constitute an act of cruelty, and thus a valid ground for divorce – Supreme Court of India

COURT; THE TEMPLE OF JUSTICE

 People have their own practices, life style, social structure, etc., are most of the time depend on the religious faith. The same can also be seen in the animal kingdom. Each kind of animal has its own territorial behavior and social behaviors. Human evolution is on the basis of the religious faith of the people, social structures, family successions, marriage etc., are on the basis of their religious faith. countries' constitutions are on the basis of the peoples' faith as that's how the world was evolved. People have highest regard for the god of their faith, and strongly believe that the god can end their misery and also punish for the mistakes.

 Every day we come across many people with scariest situations not less than a nightmare they might have gone through. For example, a person wrongly charged by police for the crime which was not done by him, Old age parents who were thrown out of the house by their own children, a rape victim who was unable to convince the society or the police on the crime done on her, an employee who is not paid salary by the atrocious employer, a family which is socially barred on the basis of caste, a husband who is wrongly charged for dowry harassment, etc., are few of the examples of the society which are scary and equally painful situation for the people who go through it.

Court is the last refuge for these kinds of victims who need justice to lead a decent life. Courts are the savior for such victims. Emotionally speaking, when people run out of the all the options, courts are the temple of justice for such people.

Legal aid and lawyers' role

Now a days more and more people are approaching court in a hope to find solutions for their misery. Even government and courts also encouraging people through several schemes like, Free Legal aid for economically under privileged people and conducting Lok Adalat for speedy justice delivery system. Contradicting to the above some time people approach courts just to satisfy their ego, to show the power of money and harass others. However our judicial system is efficient to handle these kind of things and deliver the justice to the needy. People should approach court without any hesitation; utilize the facilities like legal aid and Lok Adalat.

 The role of lawyers in justice delivery system is important which was discussed widely. The contributions of the lawyers to Indian judicial system is undoubtedly commendable. Lawyers are seen as the helping hand for the common people in terms of legal assistance. The society expects the honest and efficient legal help from the lawyers. Lawyers being the part of judiciary, it is very important for them to be able to help the people and courts in the huge task of justice delivery system.

Conclusion

We are blessed to have a system like independent judiciary in the country which can neither be influenced nor threatened by any other force. Common man has a system to substantiate to his HOPE. The contribution of judiciary in modern and successful India is overwhelming. However, there is a lot of scope for further improvements, modernization and technologically more efficient courts in India for faster justice delivery system.

 

Vijay G

Bangalore

vijaymgdg@gmail.com