National Security
Going The Greece Way
Dt: 6/7/15
Going The Greece Way
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Greece, a member country of the European Union (EU) is facing a financial crisis. It is indebted to the extent of over Euros 50.0 bln of which Eu 1.4 bln were due to be repaid on the 30th of June 2015. The country is broke. It is not able to pay. The country’s banks were shut down for six days. Earlier, people rushed to withdraw whatever they got to their credit in the banks. The ATMs had run out. Greece applied for further loan to pay back the existing loan. The EU Central Bank, the International Monitory Fund and other creditors refused to extend any further credit unless Greece accepted to carry out certain financial reforms.
2. This situation had come about because successive governments went on pumping welfare to the people. Political parties have been competitively populist. The present ruling coalition led by Alexis Tsipras has also been populist and won the elections by making promising more welfare schemes. It was not able to deliver not only what it promised but has landed the country in a financial crisis. On Sunday the 5th of July held a referendum asking the people whether they would agree for the implementation of the conditions that the creditors have proposed before they give any further loan to bail out Greece from the present peril. The ruling coalition is telling the people not to vote in favour of the EUs condition. That means it is persisting in its populist stand. The EU may ultimately expel Greece from the EU. It will have to reprint its currency, Drachma but it says it has no printing presses. Such is the crisis.
3. I am telling this story of Greece’s bankruptcy as the two Telugu states are sailing in the same boat and may come to grief unless wisdom prevails in good time. Andhra Pradesh is indebted to the extent of about Rs. 1,10,000 cr and Telangana state is indebted to the extent
of about Rs.90,000; together making a total of Rs. 2 lakh cr. The Telugu saying “appu chesi poppu kudu” is what is being implemented by the two Chief Ministers competing with one another to disburse welfare. GOAP wrote off the debt is credited back to them. The farmers and Self Help Groups (SHG); the interest already paid by the SHGs is credited back to them and is distributing gifts - Sankranti Kanukalu at Rs. 247 cr and is about to distribute clothes to the poor for the next festival. It increased the salaries of its employees by 43% (to celebrate “the emergence of Telangana as a separate state). GOAP ‘s Chief Minister promised to build a Haj House for Muslims in Vijayawada and disbursed gifts for Ramzan.
4. In Telangana, the Chief Minister is giving Rs. 51,000 for every Muslim girl who gets married ( no limit specified on how many times she can get divorce and again marry); competitively the GOAP also introduced this. On demand from SCs, STs and BCs this amount of Rs. 51,000 as gift at marriage time is beige given to them too. Not stopping with these the RTC employees in both the states got their salaries increased by 43 % in AP and 44% in Telangana. The politically appointed TTD Board which has nothing to do with the government and whose incomes are the offerings of Hindu devotees has increased the salaries of its employees by 43% just as the governments of A.P and Telangana have done
and all the while the GOAP and its leaders are finding fault with the Central Government for not giving “special status” and more yet more grants. not only for the building up its capital excelling the grandeur of Singapore and with no equal to it anywhere in the world.
5. The competition does not stop there. On the occasion of Ramzan, the government of Telangan State spent Rs. 27 cr for pleasing Muslims . 100 Iftar parties would be given at government cost to thousands in Hyderabad. Imams and Muejjins at 500 mosques in the state will each be given Rs. 1000 per month from government budgets. 1,95,000 Muslim families in Telangana will be given clothes; in about 90 MLA Constituency towns Iftar parties will be given to thousands of Muslims. We can be rest assured that the GOAP will follow suit because it does not want to be defeated in a competition to please Muslims.
7. None of these were promised in election manifestos of the ruling or other parties and the leaders are proudly saying that they are introducing welfare measures which were neither included in the Manifestos nor ever demanded by the people. There is profligacy. Who are to pay for this? Those who pay taxes; the middle class. At this rate, the competitive appeasement of Muslims and other minorities and gifts to the poor, the two states will be going Greece way. Just as the Greece is demanding of the European Union to bail it out these profligate states will be demanding the Central Government to give them more and more grants. It appears that the norm is: It is our right to spend; it is the duty of the Center to provide the funds . ( 868 words)
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