Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said excessive spending on electoral promises reduces the state’s ability to invest in infrastructure.

Delivering the inaugural address at the first ‘Murli Deora Memorial Dialogues’ on the theme ‘Leadership and Governance’ in Mumbai on Thursday, Dhankhar expressed deep concern over the emergence of appeasement politics and placatory strategies across the political spectrum.

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He said, “There is emergence of a new strategy, and the strategy is of appeasement or being placatory. If there is excessive spending on electoral promises, then the state’s ability to invest in infrastructure is correspondingly reduced. This is detrimental to the growth scenario. Election is important in democracy but not the end of it.”

“I would call upon the leadership of all political parties in the interest of democratic values to generate a consensus that engaging in such electoral promises, which can be performed only at the cost of CAPEX expenditure of the state, must be reviewed,” the Vice-President said.

“Some governments that took recourse to this appeasement and placatory mechanisms are finding it very difficult to sustain in power,” he said.

Dhankhar clarified that affirmative action for marginalised communities is distinct from appeasement politics, saying, “I should not be misunderstood, ladies and gentlemen, because while the Indian Constitution has given us the right of equality, it does provide in Article 14, 15, and 16 an acceptable category of affirmative governance—affirmative action, the reservation for SC, ST, for those who are in the economically weaker section. That is sanctified.”

“There are exceptional situations for rural India, for the farmer, where affirmative steps are required to be taken. But this is very distinct from the other aspects I was talking about. This is not placatory or appeasing. It is a justifiable economic policy. And therefore, it is good leadership that can take a call on where to draw the line in the fiscal sense in the matter of political foresight and leadership spine,” he said.

Dhankhar called for a national debate on the shift from democracy to ‘Emocracy, saying, “National debate is required so that we take note of shift from Democracy to Emocracy. Emotion-driven policies, emotion-driven debates, discourses threaten good governance.”

“Historically, populism is bad economics. And once a leader gets attached to populism, it is difficult to get out of the crisis. The central factor must be the good of the people, the largest good of the people, and the lasting good of the people. Empower people to empower themselves rather than empower them momentarily because that affects their productivity,” he said.