Public memory can be notoriously short and when there is no prodding by the media, even recent developments are forgotten. As we watch prices of onions go up in the markets, it would be salutary to recall the Onion crisis of 2010 when they became so dear that it became a major crisis. While the Manmohan Singh government tried to tackle the problem by banning exports and lowering import duties, the BJP went on the warpath and called for public protests. Hoarders had a merry day—it is widely known that whenever prices of agricultural products shoot up, it is the middle men and not the growers who benefit.
Before that, in 1998, when onion prices peaked, the BJP lost in state elections including in Delhi, where poor Sushma Swaraj, who had been foisted as the CM for a few months, had to bear the brunt. No one messes around with onions.
Once again the humble vegetable, a staple in Indian cuisine, is proving to be out of reach for the citizen. Not just the poor, even the middle and upper middle classes find it too expensive, especially since other items have become costly too. Clearly, it is valuable; otherwise why would anyone have robbed 2000 kilos of onions from a Nashik godown? Naturally, social media is full of jokes about onions being more valuable than jewellery and people taking selfies with onions.
But jokes apart, it is not just about onions. The high prices have come at a time when the stock markets are tanking and the rupee is sliding rapidly against the dollar. When both are combined, this looks like the economy is doing badly. As Arun Jaitley has pointed out, the market crash on Monday was because of external factors and the fundamentals of the economy, including inflation, are in reasonably good shape, but these are the things that make the headlines.
And while public memory may be short, it is not so weak that people don’t remember what the BJP said just a year and sometime ago when the markets were falling and the dollar was soaring against the rupee. Sushma Swaraj had then (August 2013) tweeted- On Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament, the rupee has lost its value, the Prime Minister has lost his grace.
These were biting words, but in keeping with the daily attacks on the UPA government and the Prime Minister personally that the BJP was carrying out. People remember that. Nor have they completely forgotten that the BJP and its friends, such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Subramaniam Swamy had declared confidently that the rupee would shoot up once the BJP came to power—Swamy promised it would reach parity with the dollar (one rupee one dollar) and the Guru predicted a more modest Rs 40.
Well, all the Guru’s divine predictions have failed and looks like Swamy, the great economist, too will miss his target. But the larger point remains—after having rubbished the previous government and declared things would get better once it was voted to power, why is the BJP now taking recourse to the external reasons’ defense? Why is it finding it difficult to ensure that onions reach the market at reasonable prices? Why can’t it manage the rupee’s value? Is it because these things happen cyclically and managing them takes time or is it because this government’s economic policies have so far failed?
These are complex issues, but the fact is that the BJP had promised things would get better once it came into office and handled the economy. Amit Shah can say those were election jumlas and a BJP MP Narendra Tomar can even declare, with a straight face, that the party never promised “Achhe Din” but can these explanations wash? The BJP was voted in because the voters perceived the UPA government to be corrupt and incompetent. If this government too cannot manage the economy efficiently, how is it any different? As for “Achhe Din”, they look like a distant dream, ever receding into the distance.
Getting power is one thing; managing it with responsibility is quite another. There is a growing perception that this government is bereft of talent. Barring a handful of people, other ministers are either raw or inexperienced or worse, clueless. One of those considered wiser than the others is Arun Jaitley. There is little doubt that he has put in a lot of effort to handle two crucial ministries. But, both of them are facing major issues that need delicate handling.
Onion prices are bound to settle down sooner than later and the markets and the rupee too will stabilise. These are by no means impossible to solve problems. What is making matters difficult for this government is the problem of huge expectations borne from promises which were unreasonable to say the least. People expected Narendra Modi to wave a magic wand and sort out everything in 100 days, simply because that is what he had said. And those words and claims are now coming back to haunt him and his government.
