Sentimentalism Is Poor Substitute For Good Governance

News18

a day ago

Last Updated:
Punjab govt will be better advised to—instead of spending time and energy on constitutional, legal minutiae—focus on fiscal prudence, economic policy framework, good governanc
What does our political class do when they fail on all fronts? Well, it takes recourse to religion, hoping that it could be a useful opiate to numb the cognitive and cogitative faculties of people, thus diverting their attention from the real issues. So, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, having failed to improve the situation in the state, is trying to bring a piece of legislation to provide for stricter punishments against sacrilege, including the death penalty.
'We will be convening a special session of Vidhan Sabha on July 10 and 11 to bring a historic legislation for stricter punishment against those found guilty of sacrilege. The Centre should have done it. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is bringing it in Punjab as it understands the emotions of the people of the state," AAP spokesperson Neel Garg recently said.
The spokesperson, indeed the state government, needs to understand that there are more important things for people than emotions—things like jobs, decent and healthy life, good human and physical environment. On every count, the AAP government in Punjab has failed.
According to the latest report from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for October-December 2024, there was a steep rise in youth unemployment in urban Punjab. The rate in the 15-29 age group soared from 12.2 per cent in the July-September 2024 period to 14.9 per cent in October-December 2024. Female unemployment rates were higher than male.
It is hardly surprising that the lack of opportunities at home fuels the young Punjabis' impulse to seek greener pastures in other countries. Many of them go to countries like the US and Canada by illegal means. When the US deported many Indians in a humiliating condition, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged the youth to learn lessons from the recent mass deportation of illegal migrants. He beseeched them to work hard in their native state to make it a frontrunner in the country.
That, however, will be predicated upon objective conditions in the state: that is, fiscal policies and a sound policy framework, which are the sine qua non of growth and development. But the state is spending 86 per cent of its new borrowing to repay old loans.
But legacy debt is not the only burden the AAM regime is condemned to bear; it is doing its own bit—more than a bit actually—to augment the burden. It continued its tryst with freebies. Unsurprisingly, the economy continues to underperform, growing at a pace lower than the national average.
Punjab's agriculture, once booming which made the state the breadbasket of the nation, is worse than languishing. Subsidy-oriented and MSP-based farm policies, both of the Centre and the state, have introduced distortions in the farm sectors and made it adopt anti-environment practices like stubble burning and drawing excessive groundwater.
There is scarcely any spark in the industrial sector; the state rarely appears on the manufacturing map of India.
And then there are drugs. Early this month, the Punjab and Haryana High Court highlighted the dangerous ramifications of the use of cocaine, heroin, etc. Justice Sumeet Goel warned that the crisis is no longer confined to personal addiction but has begun to threaten public order, national security, and the rule of law itself. 'It is the considered view of this Court that cases pertaining to the drug menace, especially those involving manufactured drugs, must be dealt with the utmost strictness and resolve," the High Court declared.
This, four months after the Punjab government set a three-month deadline to declare the state free from drugs! Chief Minister Singh Mann called the time of that decision 'a historic moment as the state government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against drugs and is launching a crusade against this menace."
Only if government decisions and announcements could transform the world into a paradise!
Since the AAP government in Punjab has failed to save the state and its people from various menaces, it has now decided to shield religion and gods.
Sacrilege has long been an emotionally-charged issue in Punjab. There was an incident of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari in 2015. This badly hurt the electoral prospects of the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government; specifically, it hurt the Akali Dal; the party is yet to fully recover from it. Since then, successive governments have made repeated efforts to introduce laws mandating harsher penalties for sacrilege.
CM Mann has emphasised that while the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) includes specific provisions related to religious places, it does not explicitly address Sikh scriptures. He believes that since this issue falls under the Concurrent List, the state has the jurisdiction to frame its own legislation on the matter.
Mann and his government will be better advised to—instead of spending time and energy on constitutional and legal minutiae—focus on fiscal prudence, a sound economic policy framework, and good governance.
The author is a freelance journalist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
view comments
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
July 09, 2025, 19:30 IST
News opinion Opinion | Sentimentalism Is Poor Substitute For Good Governance
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.