BJP’s freebie offers are not sustainable, says BJD leader V.K. Pandian

The Biju Janata Dal’s election promise of free power to 90% households in Odisha has a sound financial reasoning backing it, with provisions made for it in the State budget, party leader and 5T chairman V.K. Pandian said on Friday. Speaking exclusively to The Hindu, he said that what had shocked him was the BJP’s poll promise of a ₹50,000 “voucher” for two crore women in the State.

“The Odisha government has the financial cushion to promise free power. For me, it’s shocking the way the BJP has promised freebies, despite declaring they are against freebie culture,” he said. “They have announced a funny scheme for Odisha in their manifesto, that they will come up with a ₹50,000 ‘voucher’ for two crore women. First of all, what is a voucher? We are not running a shopping mall. Plus, the outlay for this would be ₹1 lakh crore when your total budget is ₹2 lakh crore! It’s a mockery of developmental economics. The BJP’s plans will push back Odisha by 25 years,” he added.

Being a revenue surplus State, Odisha could afford the free electricity promise made by the BJD, Mr. Pandian said. “Looking at our revenue surplus of ₹25,000 crore, Odisha being one of the few States with a revenue surplus, we will take a hit of only ₹2,000 crore on this scheme. To look at it in another way, our target is to make Odisha’s per capita income the highest in the country. The way to do it is to cut down the costs to individual households. Chief Minister [Naveen] Patnaik has already done that via free health coverage, free education, and power is the next thing,” he said.

He added that the other side of the equation was boosting income generation, for which the State is getting investments in the power, clean energy, green ammonia, textiles, semi conductor, and IT sectors. “Investors are attracted not just by trust in the governance, but the fact that we have a huge buffer to avail credit and back up whatever capital incentive we give to industry. This is the way we are looking to do poverty alleviation and social security, not by doling out freebies,” he said.

‘The people of Odisha will decide if I am an outsider’

Odisha is electing its State Assembly simultaneously with the Lok Sabha poll. Nistula Hebbar caught up with BJD leader and former bureaucrat V.K. Pandian on the contest in the State and how he deals with the ‘outsider’ tag.

The BJP is making much of their plank of Odia Asmita, or Odia pride, with references to the fact that you are not Odia.

It’s the people who have to decide who is an outsider. I heard my inner call and took the plunge. Also, a State or region’s pride is decided upon four or five things, number one being language. In March 2014, the then-UPA government, after persuasion by Naveen Babu [Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik], declared Odia as a classical language just before the polls. But 10 years of NDA government hasn’t seen anything in terms of promotion of the Odia language, whereas they have done it for Telugu, Sanskrit, Tamil, etc. Second, CM Naveen Patnaik had moved a proposal requesting that Odissi music, which is very popular, be given the tag of classical music, the Central government did not respond.

Thirdly, a region’s identity is also reflected in how you honour the leaders of that State. Biju Babu [late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik] is one the tallest leaders not just in the country but internationally as well. When he passed away, flags of four countries were laid on his body, including from Indonesia, where he had rescued freedom fighters in his plane in 1947. His contribution to India as a country is huge, whether it be preventing Indonesia from deploying their Naval units during the Bangladesh war, or instituting an international award for the popularisation of science. He is the father of modern Odisha, making it one of India’s most progressive States. BJP has given Bharat Ratna to many people, and without going into those who have been awarded, they couldn’t find anyone from Odisha? Just before elections, after 10 years of somnolence, you wake up and talk of these things?

The fourth aspect of regional pride is seen in how you also treat a State. From 2004, we are fighting for coal royalty revisions; that hasn’t been done. The MCL [Mahanadi Coalfields], which is a CPSU [Central public sector unit] earns about ₹27,000 crore from Odisha and contributes only ₹4,000 crore to the [State] exchequer. Only pollution stays in Odisha. What have you done for that? We have asked that, just for disaster management, Odisha, due to its geographical location, needs to be given special status, but there has only been silence.

The BJP and the BJD were in talks for an electoral alliance. What happened?

To be honest, it is a talk between two leaders, to do something substantial for the State and country. It had no political implications. Naveen Babu does not need BJP to form a government and perhaps BJP also does not need Naveen Babu’s support.

What is the Guru Mantra that Mr. Patnaik has imparted to you in terms of public life?

Keep your ears close to the ground, and keep your heart in the right place, with the interests of the people.

The BJP believes it has a surge in Odisha in these polls; how then do you express confidence of a win?

They think they have a surge everywhere in the country. They thought that they had a surge in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. It’s part of their political strategy. With regard to Odisha especially, they are trying to create a narrative of surge, because in the last symbol elections, i.e, the zilla parishad elections, they lost in all 30 districts, with less than 50 seats. So they try to create what are called CBMs [confidence building measures] in international parlance . The only problem is they [BJP leaders] give such huge numbers to themselves, their own cadre do not believe them.

You are made out to be this Machiavellian character behind Mr. Patnaik, guiding his hand. How do you deal with such characterisation?

I am used to it. That is something the Opposition has been doing for a long time against the Chief Minister. From 2000 to 2004, they did against someone else; from 2004 to 2011 they hit Pyari Babu [Pyari Mohan Mohapatra], but they miss out on the larger point of Naveen Babu’s presence. This helps Naveen Babu also, and I am happy to be the fall guy if that is the case.

Your party has maintained equidistance from the BJP and the Congress-led Opposition. After the polls, would you be open to support either formation if called to?

Right now we are in the middle of the elections, engaged in triangular fights in many constituencies, and these are hypothetical questions that need not be answered.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a sharp attack against Chief Minister Patnaik in the past week. That seems unusual.

Prime Minister Modi said that his party would take oath on June 10. We found the actual auspicious date and have announced June 9 as the date for the swearing-in of Naveen Babu. In 2019, PM Modi had used the word “farewell”, and this time he used the word “expiry date”; Naveen Babu won then and he will be taking oath again this time.

The Prime Minister has also spoken about reservations for Muslims, and the redistribution of wealth. What is your view?

Whenever somebody is using religion, casteism, regionalism, it is not good for a progressive, democratic country like India. I am saying this with regard to the Congress too, why get into the interstices of caste? Empower vulnerable sections like Naveen Babu has done. Focus should be on core issues which touch 80% population of India.

There have been accusations that the BJD is also going the freebie way with the free electricity promise.

Odisha government has the financial cushion to promise free power. For me, its shocking the way BJP has promised freebies, despite declaring they are against freebie culture. They have announced a funny scheme for Odisha in their manifesto, that they will come up with a ₹50,000 “voucher” for two crore women. First of all, what is a voucher? We are not running a shopping mall. Plus, the outlay for this would be ₹1 lakh crore when your total budget is ₹2 lakh crore! It’s a mockery of developmental economics. BJP’s plans will push back Odisha by 25 years.

The BJD has promised free electricity for 90% of households. Looking at our revenue surplus of ₹25,000 crore, Odisha being one of the few States with a revenue surplus, we will take a hit of only ₹2,000 crore on this scheme. To look at it in another way, our target is to make Odisha’s per capita income the highest in the country. The way to do it is to cut down the costs to individual households. Chief Minister Patnaik has already done that via free health coverage, free education, and power is the next thing. On the other side, you increase the income generation activities — in that also, we are the second ranking State in terms of attracting investments, first being Maharashtra and not Gujarat. We are getting investments in the sectors of power, clean energy, green ammonia, textiles, semi conductors, and IT. Investors are attracted not just by trust in the governance, but the fact that we have a huge buffer to avail credit and back up whatever capital incentive we give to industry. This is the way we are looking to do poverty alleviation and social security, not by doling out freebies.