The government's idea to get people to voluntarily forgo their LPG subsidy as an exercise in "nation building" has raised peoples' hackles.  The SMS from oil companies says, "Want to join Nation Building? It's simple - just give up LPG subsidy." Now if only the minister or the prime minister had said, "I am giving up my LPG subsidy. Join me in nation building"

The Union Government wants me to forgo my subsidy of around Rs500 per LPG cylinder. And it thinks that if I ignore the SMS, it will ‘expose’ the ‘rich’ who want to hang on to benefits meant for the poor.  If all of us filthy rich people who save fortunes due to this subsidy on cooking gas decide to give it up, it will add up to a princely sum of Rs3,500 crore. Mr Narendra Modi, thank you. I have no guilt in enjoying this subsidy. In fact, I get a small vicarious pleasure in getting something back from a system that has only taken from me all my life. Why is it that the system favours those who are parasitical to the extreme?

Given the noise about the Gujarat model, I thought that the age of meritocracy had to come. Alas, the Modi government seems to be bent on pushing honest citizens against the wall. Encouraging parasites to thrive through subsidies is surely not the way Gujarat has reached where it has, but the message this time is all wrong. If the Modi government is serious about the “Gujarat model”, we should actually see all subsidies being banished and that there are rewards for honesty and merit.

The government’s estimate of ‘under recoveries' on LPG is around Rs450 per cylinder and a direct contribution by the government of around Rs23 per cylinder. So at worst, the ‘subsidy’ on LPG is around Rs500 per cylinder. (Source of above nos). The government could easily remove the subsidy on LPG cylinders and provide cash subsidy to the poor. In fact, the whole business of ‘under recoveries’ on petroleum products is a sleight of hand, if one takes in to account the taxes on petroleum products imposed by the central and the state governments.
 
We have read about Members of Parliament (MPs) ordering hundreds of cylinders. Why not have the MPs come forward and forgo a few of their perks first in the interest of 'nation building'? Instead, even while the government wants us to forgo the LPG subsidy, we have television channels reporting how MPs are demanding special perks for themselves at airports.
 
The fiscal deficit of the government for the current year is Rs5.31 lakh crore. If all the subsidy on LPG to the ‘rich’ were removed, it would perhaps reduce the deficit by Rs3,500 crore. So the government is attempting an emotional blackmail whose impact will be more negative than positive.  Unless of course, the wise Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, can cook up 35 more social impact schemes of Rs100 crore each.

The other thing I fail to understand is, why successive governments only keep milking honest taxpayers? If someone who pays no taxes, gets free electricity, free food and a subsidised gas cylinder, he is doing it at my expense. I am being penalised not because of my circumstances but because of my efficiency. And I spend more- so I also contribute more by way of indirect taxes. There is no stream of income or expenditure of a salaried tax payer, that escapes taxation.

The exhortation to give up the LPG subsidy is coming from a government in which the parliamentarians earn tax-free salaries and perquisites which are likely to shame a corporate CEO. Further, MPs get a pension for just being voted in once. It is neither fair nor equitable. I am sure that the freebies given to parliamentarians, including spends on their security, families, housing and what not, easily exceed Rs3,500 crore.  During election time, the filing of returns showed eye-popping numbers as income and wealth for so many politicians! When the government does not do anything to limit its own executives, it has no right to tell me to tighten my belt.
 
As a tax payer, I contribute to the nation building. It is the tax payer who helps build the infrastructure that the subsidy eating citizen enjoys. Yes, I am being bloody minded, but it is the politicians who are coaxing this reaction from me. We all know that the problem of this beloved country is the burden of too many people. Why does the government not link subsidies to the smallness of a family and help solve a problem at its root rather than do something impulsive that only irks the taxpayer?
 
And there are so many who get away: Agricultural income is tax free. No issues with that, but when politicians and businessmen start claiming crores of rupees under this head, the objective has been lost. Fix these leakages first, before attacking the belaboured and salaried tax payer. As a consumer, I am paying high prices for agriculture produce. Fix the profiteer first, instead of parroting that the farmer does not benefit. When there are so many fires to be doused, why is the government creating a new one?