States Will Be Left With No Money For Progress, Says Jagdeep Dhankar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has warned against freebies and political appeasement to win elections. Speaking at the first ‘Murli Deora Memorial Dialogues’ in Mumbai, the Vice-President warned against the new trend of offering money and other freebies to voters to, saying populism is bad economics and could lead to crisis in the state. “The central factor must be the good of the people, the largest good of the people, the lasting good of the people”, he said, adding, “Empower people to empower themselves rather than empower them momentarily because that affects their productivity.” He also warned that excessive spending on electoral promises reduces a state's ability to invest in infrastructure, which is “detrimental to the growth rate.” The VP called upon political leaders to generate consciousness about the impact of such promises on capital expenditure.