New Delhi, Nov 21: Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has stressed the need to ensure economic equality and equal development of all states to fulfil the mandate of the Constitution, saying welfare doesn’t happen by “distributing money” in the elections.
Addressing an event here on Thursday, Joshi suggested that to end discrimination, smaller states should be created out of existing ones with equal number of constituencies in each of them and almost equal population.
The event was organised to mark 91st birth anniversary of G V G Krishnamurthy, former election commission of India and ex-law secretary.
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Every citizen has the equal right to vote, but there is a huge difference in the economic heft of people living in states like Karnataka, Bihar and Maharashtra, the former Union minister said.
“In Karanataka, what is a person’s economic heft? He votes with a particular economic strength…and then what are the economic strength of a person living in desert, hills or Northeast. Does he have same economic heft? He doesn’t,” he said.
Joshi said that the Constitution provides “right to justice — economic and political”.
“And for the political right, you have been given right to vote. But this right to vote cannot be exercised unless I have economic justice. Ambedkar has also talked a lot about this,” he said.
He said there is a need to find out some mechanism in which political and economic rights are equally distributed, and there is also equality in development.
“If this doesn’t happen, then with all commitments to democracy, all commitments to welfare, we are not going to become a real democrat. We are not going to serve the people,” he added.
Joshi said difference in economic status and development is “discrimination”. “Welfare doesn’t happen by distributing money in elections,” he said.
“Like people are raising this question today that you distributed money before elections. The government says it distributed money for welfare. They say no, you distributed money to purchase votes,” the former BJP president said in a veiled reference to the war of words between the ruling NDA and opposition over Bihar poll results.
“This is the question today. We will have to find its answer… political parties will not resolve this question. Their question is different. They are using the constitutional provisions for their continuation in power, whosoever is the party. Mrs Gandhi did it, Vajpayee did it,” he added.
Joshi said the answer to the problem lies in what Pt Deendayal Upadhyay once proposed: “Have smaller states.”
“So if you decide today, that there should say 70 states, having almost equal population and then see they also get equal economic power and the Parliament functions in the interest of every body,” he said.
“After 10-20 years, there should be some review,” he added.
Joshi said the unequal distribution of population and unequal distribution of economic development is not according to the basic principle of the Constitution.
“Consequence. Now you find that some states are saying don’t do census,” he said.
Joshi said that the Constitution provides that census should happen in the country in every 10 years and then delimitation of the constituencies after this.
“But the very first casualty of this right to census and delimitation happened when Mrs Gandhi said ‘we have extended it for 25 years’,” he said.
“After that this continues till Vajpayee ji’s term. Then Vajpayee ji also said who will get into this fight. He also extended it,” the BJP stalwart said.
Over the years, economic differences have increased and the population differences in the states have also increased, he said.
“Some states have become more populous, while others have become less populous. Those who became less populous became economically strong. Those where population increased, they became economically weak,” he said.
In Parliament, Uttar Pradesh has a much higher strength but economic heft of the state is less while the economic heft of Tamil Nadu and Kerala is much higher, he said
“So this is a discrimination. To end this, it was said that you do equalisation. The distribution of constituencies must be equal. This is still pending,” Joshi said. (PTI)
