Budgets are economic documents that provide statements of income and expenditure of governments. But they are often political statements also and sometimes even serve as election manifestos of ruling parties. The AAP government in Delhi has presented a budget for the city-state which reflects many of the priorities that it has been known for. The AAP has given importance to social welfare in its governance plans and so the budget has provided a 23.74% outlay for education and 14% for healthcare. It has set a target of doubling the number of `mohalla clinics’ and opening 100 such clinics, especially for women. It plans to build infrastructure to cater to a population of 3.28 crore by 2047 and has laid out a vision to increase the per capita income of a Delhi resident to the per capita income of a Singapore resident by then.
But the dominant theme of the budget is patriotism and the government has chosen to call it a “deshbhakti” budget. It may be called a variety of political budget with its focus on sentiments like national pride and ideas like the citizens’ duties to the nation. It sets aside Rs 45 crore for installing 500 high-mast national flags in the city, one visible every two km, to boost the love of the nation and national pride among the people. It has proposed a “patriotism” curriculum in schools and events to mark the lives of Bhagat Singh and B R Ambedkar. The government would facilitate the pilgrimage of the city's elderly to the Ram temple at Ayodhya once it is completed. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that his government’s ideal is Ram Rajya. He has also enunciated the primary responsibilities of governance like health, housing, education and security as 10 principles within the framework of Ram Rajya.
The AAP has in the recent past tried to present a soft Hindu face, obviously emulating the BJP with which it is in competition. Kejriwal has declared that he is a devotee of Ram and Hanuman. Religion was a private matter for most, but now it has been brought out in the public domain as an identity marker and political counter. This is a sign of political shift, and the AAP is not the only party that is flying the Hindu flag. The Rajasthan government has legalised mining to supply stones for the Ram temple at Ayodhya and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee recites Chandi path at an election meeting. But competitive Hinduism can only lead to the legitimisation of harder and more fundamentalist forms of it and greater exclusion of others in social and political fields. Should a citizen be reminded of the nation every day with the sight of a neighbourhood tricolour?