The Supreme Court’s word, without doubt, should be final in all matters of national interest. There, however, are times when the public is dismayed at the way it comes up with decisions on matters of extreme pubic importance.
A reference here is to the court’s order on a PIL seeking postponement of the Union Budget presentation till the assembly polls to five states are over. The Apex court does not see merit in the argument that new provisions in the budget could influence the outcome of the polls, and it has hence allowed the government to go ahead with its plan to present the budget on February 1.
As a matter of fact, voting in elections are based as much on spur-of-the-moment responses than being well-thought-out decisions. Major swings have been witnessed in public mood over sudden developments in the past, like in the parliamentary elections in 1991 that were held days after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudur.
The Congress party regained its hold on power at a time when general feeling was that the party would get defeated, if not decimated. The polls to five assemblies in the north, west, south and the east are scheduled from February 4 to March 8. Within days of the presentation of the budget, or of its passing, the people would start heading for the polling booths.
There are reasonable apprehensions on the part of the Opposition whether the Damodardass Modi government would use the presentation of the Union Budget to send olive branches to major sections of the people in these states to get them vote for the ruling BJP at least in Uttar Pradesh.
A model code of conduct imposed by the Election Commission upon declaration of the election schedule is now in existence, under which the central and state governments are restrained from announcing any new schemes until polling is over. The PIL wanted the Apex Court to restrain the Centre from declaring any relief, programme, financial bills until the state’s elections are over, on the grounds that these could be violative of the model code. The court, apparently, disagrees.
Budgets as a rule are the government’s blueprint for use of its financial resources for an entire year. Every budget comes up with new schemes to help different sets of people, whether it be farmers, government employees, youths, women, the elderly, and the like. If, for instance, the government comes up with new schemes that help farmers, it could hope to get votes from this large segment of the population in all the five states.
Nothing prevents it from introducing such provisions in the budget, winning over sections of the people and possibly laughing their way to victory in the polls. Clearly, the Supreme Court has not found merit in such apprehensions. What the Court ordered — that the budget could be presented before the polls — might have been done out of some or other compulsion.
It could be that the government exerted pressure on it, as many think.
On an earlier occasion, in 2012, a similar situation had arisen. The polls to these five states were up. The then Opposition, led by the BJP, had raised objection to the presentation of the budget and the then UPA government bent to the demand and postponed the budget presentation.
However, the same BJP is not willing to come up with a similar response now, and has in a ham-handed way brushed aside the Opposition’s plea for a postponement of the budget. This seems highly objectionable. It undercuts the spirit of democracy. Not only that, it will severely hamper workings of the last of the great institutions left in this nation, namely, the Election Commission.
India’s main claim to its democratic credentials — of it being among the best practitioners of the system — is based essentially on the fair manner in which elections are held. Indian elections in recent times are so well-planned that there is little scope for malpractice and events such as violence or booth-capturing seem to have been relegated to the past. This is globally noticed and well-appreciated.
The government would have done a great service to uphold India’s fair name had it agreed to postpone the budget presentation this time until the polling is over. It’s a pity it didn’t. It’s a greater pity that the Supreme Court, too, does not seem inclined to protect institutions that make this country proud.
