Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in a rally for the upcoming Gujarat polls said that it was time to earn income from electricity instead of getting it for free. This statement came against the backdrop of both AAP and Congress promising voters up to 300 units of free electricity should they be voted into power.
The PM cited Gujarat’s Modhera village as an example where the people utilising solar rooftops sell excess power to the government. In theory, the idea sounds like a dream but cannot be replicated everywhere as it is not economically viable for most people or the government.
The Centre and Gujarat government have invested ₹80 crores in the Modhera village project and replicating this initiative across Gujarat alone will be a huge burden on the taxpayer in the long term.
Commoners will not be able to afford such technology either, whereas most are still recovering from the financial burden that was brought forth upon them by the Covid-19 pandemic. The middle class and the lower class would rather opt for better meals and education.
While parties offering freebies has been a topic of debate across the country and should be avoided by them in their election pitch, Modi's message too, seems to be of one, giving a sense of false hope. Perhaps it is the right message but maybe at the wrong time.
Warren Menezes, Vasco
