Pride Is Good But Has To Translate Into Improvement Of Quality Of Life: TN Minister P Thiaga Rajan
Sharing his views on the Modi government, Tamil Nadu Minister of Information Technology and Digital, P Thiaga Rajan said pride is only good when it translates into a better quality of life for people.
Tamil Nadu Minister of Information Technology and Digital, P Thiaga Rajan on Thursday shared his take on the Narendra Modi-led government at the centre and when asked about his views on the pride that a section of people take in the BJP-led Centre, he said, "Pride is good but it has to translate into actual improvement of quality of life of people before its meaningful, otherwise its propaganda, anyone can drive propaganda. Outcomes matter."
Speaking at the ABP Network's 'The Southern Rising Summit 2023', he said, "I see the propaganda and pride as a substitute in a lot of places. In a lot of places, we are seeing much worse outcomes than we should in terms of equity, inclusion, and harmony. We are seeing social strife and so forth and I am almost afraid that this kind of pride is a substitute for 'I can't give you better jobs', 'I can't give you a better life' but you can feel better because you are above somebody else in the hierarchy. These are correlated problems because the more you have an unstable decision of one person or one party that can change the rule of law or rate of tax.. the less likely outsider investors see it as a level-playing field and the less likely they are going to come and invest in a place where they can't predict what path outcomes can take."
Move Power Closer To People
Talking about the need to bring power closer to the people, he said, "All over the world the notion of democracy is linked with the notion of self-determination. Move the power closer to the people, not three degrees above."
In a remark on the Prime Minister, he said, "The greatest federalist of all time was Narendra Modi till he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat". He also said there was a need to devote power so that money could reach local bodies and benefit people.
Further elaborating on the problem of one-party rule, he said, "The problem with the one-party rule is that the odds of getting it exactly right is exactly zero. While they had decades of tremendous growth now they are paying the price for it. In the process, there was a lot of suppression of dissent and opinions while getting there. So I would not like to see growth at that cost."
"It is very unlikely that there is an all-knowing authority, the notion of democracy is that a thousand voices should be heard, we should take all inputs and then we should try and figure out a policy and if it doesn't work we should be able to calibrate, recalibrate and readjust and this is the only way going forward," he added.
However, he also added, "There are certain things which should be done at a national level - things like foreign trade, currency stability, international relations but if you are going to dictate things like social policy like who should get fed, who should get educated... this is very difficult in any large country in the world and does not even happen in China despite it being communist."
South And Hindutva Politics
When asked about why the card of Hindutva politics does not work much in the south as much as it does in the northern part of the country, the minister said, "A lot is done in the name of religion which are actually not compassionate, not humane not thoughtful and attributing those things to God is actually blasphemous to god. We are believers but belief in God doesn't mean putting someone down."
He said politics of weaponising religion or using religion to divide people won't hold anytime soon in South India. "We have democratised religion in south India."
Voters Sophisticated Enough To Make Their Choices
When asked about his views on the upcoming elections, he exuded confidence in voters to make the right choices and said, "Voters are sophisticated enough about their self-interest at least the more educated they are the more sophisticated they are in making their choices. I have faith in the voters, at least in Tamil Nadu. They are thoughtful and rational enough who make choices based on the information, the track record and their perception about what is good for them."
He added, "People get the government they elect and the government they deserve, whatever they decide is the wisdom of the people which is lived with the consequences. I am sanguine that in my state this is how they will act and vote."
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