Populism threatens good governance, says VP Dhankhar

In this image released via VP office on March 6, 2025, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar delivers the inaugural address at the first edition of ‘Murli Deora Memorial Dialogues’, in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Populism threatens good governance, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said in Mumbai on Thursday (March 6, 2025) while making the inaugural address at the first ‘Murli Deora Memorial Dialogues’ on the theme ‘Leadership And Governance.’

Appealing to political leaders to stand against it, he called for a national debate on “the shift from democracy to E-mocracy.” He said, “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, the lasting good of the people. Empower people to empower themselves rather than empower them momentarily because that affects their productivity.” He also raised an alarm over the rising number of illegal immigrants in the country, and the “emerging danger of a demographic invasion.”

He delivered the lecture in the presence of the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde, who had promised before the elections to increase the installment of the populist scheme, Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, from ₹1,500 to ₹2,100. The elections thereafter saw populist promises being made by all political parties.

‘Appeasement’ strategy

“There is the emergence of a new strategy, and the strategy is one 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. Elections are important in a 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. Governments that resorted to appeasement and placatory mechanisms are finding it very difficult to sustain in power,” he said.

But he also added that his concern should not be misunderstood with comments on affirmative action for marginalised communities. “I should not be misunderstood, ladies and gentlemen, because while the Indian Constitution has given us the right of equality, it does provide in Articles 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 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.

Mr. Dhankhar also raised an alarm about the growing number of illegal immigrants in the country and their relevance in electoral politics. “The nation is housing millions of illegal migrants, which is causing a demographic upheaval. They are making huge demands on health and education services. They are depriving our people of employment opportunities. Such elements have alarmingly secured electoral relevance in some areas, and this is shaping the essence of our democracy. Emerging dangers can be evaluated through historical reference, where nations lost their ethnic identity because of similar demographic invasions,” he said.

Expressing concern over conversion, the Vice-President remarked, “This malaise, far more severe than COVID, is aggravatingly intersected with conversions through allurements, with attempts to trap vulnerable sections. The marginalised, the tribals, the weaker become easy prey to these temptations and allurements. Faith is your own. Faith is dictated by conscience. The Indian Constitution gives freedom of faith. But if this faith is held hostage by temptations, it is, according to me, defacing freedom of faith.”