‘Food security Bill’ or ‘Vote security Bill’

Recently this Bill passed in Monsoon session has created a lot of fuss in and out of the parliament. Media has named it Vote Security Bill and the opposition has not really opposed it as they are not the one who is going to risk their own quota of the votes. Ultimately it’s all a part of politics, call it dirty or healthy our leaders or should call them politicians, have sweared on politicizing everything, literally.

Half of the people who are opposing or who are supporting it do not even know what exactly this Bill is about. Their behavior is like a sheep in herd and they just follow the herd. So what is this Bill?

“As per the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries would get rice at 3 rs/kg, wheat at 2 rs/kg, and coarse grains at 1 rs/kg. These rates would be valid for three years. Every pregnant woman and lactating mother would get free meal during pregnancy till six months after child birth. They will also get a maternity benefit of 6,000 rs in installments. Children up to 14 years would get free meals. In case of non-supply of food grains, states will have to pay food security allowance to beneficiaries.”

Now who are these beneficiaries no one knows yet. I heard that Government is starting a survey to identify them. Here one noticeable thing is there are already schemes which are providing really cheap food grains to people who are below Poverty line. There are already mid-day meals for children country wide. And already free check-ups and medicines for pregnant women. So what extra benefit this Bill is going to provide? Now they say, number of beneficiaries will be much higher. Bravo…

‘There is no free lunch’ was a saying till now and I am sure our government is hell bent on proving it wrong. You want to see where is the free lunch? Please come and visit India. India, at one point of time one of the fastest growing economy has imposed a great amount of risk on its already sinking economy, by providing free lunch. Why? What a stupid word is this ‘why?’, of course to lure the people who really vote.

Now question arises how it will be done? I am not really a economist but I know how a simple give and take works. But first we have to identify who is the giver and who is the taker. Giver is for sure the Government treasury, which we all know is filled by the tax payer’s money, I will come to it. Takers are the poor of this country, which happens to be 32.7% of the population i.e. approximately 400 millions of people, but in this case as the beneficiary limit is greater than that as per the Bill, which consists of farmers, daily wage earners and also people who does nothing.

Now the government will buy food grains from farmers, with higher payment (prices are shooting already) and then they will give back the same grains to them with negligible prices, also to them who do nothing or work on daily basis. Think of the effect, why do you think the daily earners will work anymore? They already got what they work for. Why do you think a person who does nothing, will do anything if he gets already what he would earn. Living in this country and doing nothing has become a bliss for them, now they just need to Vote and keep doing nothing.

Who is at loss? Government? Government is just a body who manages the country (ideally) by regulating money, collecting taxes and using that money in infrastructure, defense and welfare of the citizen. So the Money which government has is from salaried employees, businessmen, companies, organizations who are paying taxes. In short its people’s money which Government is using to pay and buy food for poor.

So what’s the outcome? Indirectly half of the working people are spending their hard earn money to feed the other half. On the same lines I read somewhere -

“Just think what will happen when the one half gets the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them and when the other half gets an idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for. Well, it is when it is beginning of the end of an economy.”

 Only motive behind this Bill, according to Government, is to remove poverty which we don’t see is working and looking at the amount of corruption it is less likely that even half of the people who belong to this beneficiary list will even know about it and like other welfare schemes this will also end up filling political pockets. 

 Well, statement still has question marks ‘Food security Bill’ or ‘Vote security Bill’???