I am quite amazed at the naivety and the gullibility of the Indian masses.
They fall for anything that is well packaged, without bothering to check the quality of the contents of the package. And they do it again and again without fail.
When Modi got elected on his promises of Ache Din, the first thing he came up was the “Clean Ganga” campaign. He promised that all the rivers in India would be cleaned and he said he will start with Ganga.
When he was asked if he had a plan as to how to clean a river that flowed across half of India? He did not have an answer.
When he was asked if he had a blueprint of cleaning the Ganga? He said “Main Ganga Maiya Ka Beta Hoon”
People believed him and sat back waiting for Ganga to be clean.
Till now Rs. 2,958 Crore have been spent to Clean Ganga and all has gone down the drain with little or nothing to show about it.
The Corporates involved in the Clean Ganga project however went laughing all the way to the banks.
The next year Modi came up with Demonetization.
He claimed that Demonetization will reduce Terrorism and it will reduce Black Money.
When he was asked how exactly it will reduce Terrorism and if Terrorists moved around with bags of money on their shoulders? He didn’t have an answer.
He was asked how exactly will it reduce Black Money, when the sources at which Black Money is generated aren’t being affected by Demonetization? He did not have an answer.
When asked how introducing Rs. 2000 notes instead of Rs. 1000 notes was Demonetization? He said, “Main to Fakir hoon, Jhola utha ke chala jaunga.”
But the People hailed it as “A Masterstroke”. They stood in endless queues at ATMs thinking, “Siachan mein humare jawan bhi to khade hain”.
Terrorism is still prevalent in India. You hear of daily Terrorist attacks somewhere or the other. And as far as Black Money is concerned they haven’t even finished counting the notes as yet.
The rich people who had black money in Rs. 1000 notes now have black money in Rs. 2000 notes and they can store twice the amount of cash in the same cupboard stash.
Also Read: Corruption in India: Politics, Demonetization and Scams
Then Modi came up with GST.
He claimed it will bring down the prices of goods drastically and increase the savings of the common man.
When he was asked, how a new tax will bring down the prices when the rate was higher than the previous proposed rate? He did not answer.
When asked how the savings would be increased when goods were actually getting expensive while salaries remain the same? He said, “GST is not an Economic Reform, it is a Social Reform”
People bought it again. It was perhaps the first time a Nation actually celebrated a Tax.
No prices came down. Things keep getting expensive every day. No one is saving a farthing more than what they were before.
Meanwhile, the Corporates benefited from the Tax, a benefit that they don’t need to pass on to the consumers. They are happily dancing a waltz with their CAs at the moment and their Corporate Profits are rising every quarter, even as there are no new jobs created.
Also Read: Know how to Pay GST in India – GST Payment Procedure
And now Modi has come up with ModiCare.
He claims it will be the world’s largest healthcare program. He claims it will provide cheap affordable healthcare to everyone.
When asked if they have a document ready for it which can be presented? He says NO.
When asked how if they can tell exactly how it will be rolled out and who it will benefit and how? He says “Main sab ko pakoda khilaunga”
And people are dancing up and down with joy again, hailing this scheme as a “Game Changer”.
No one is wondering how a Health Insurance plan which comes out of the existing Health Care Spend in the budget is going to help them?
No one is wondering if the reduction in the Health Care Budget means taking the funds which were supposed to be spent on Health Facilities and giving it to Insurance Companies as premium?
No one is wondering that if the spending on actual health care facilities is reduced doesn’t that mean they will have to go to private hospitals for good facilities and watch that insurance cover provided go from the hands of Insurance Companies to Private Health Care providing Corporates?
I am not sure how much this ModiCare will benefit the people but I do know that there is a certain well-known Corporate who is in the field of both, Health Insurance and Health Care Services like Hospitals and I have full “reliance” on the eventuality that they along with other similar corporates will be laughing their way to the banks. yet again.
Meanwhile……You gullible people of India can sit back, watch photoshopped pictures of Clean Ganga on Social Media, look at those pink notes and think about the GPS tracking chip in it, dance around dreaming of one nation one tax and hope you don’t fall ill and have to use up that Insurance cover to pay the bills at the nearest private hospital.
Disclaimer: This post goes out to all those people who go and repeatedly buy Lays chips and end up paying for air packaged neatly in a beautiful looking bag with a few token chips thrown in to keep you happy.
The post was first published by Darshan Mondkar on his Facebook Timeline.
Image Courtesy: Narendra Modi Official https://www.flickr.com/photos/narendramodiofficial/10065607823 via Flickr
