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How South First’s Exec Ed Anusha Ravi Peddled Propaganda Laced With Half-Truths To Claim “North-South” Divide

February 27, 2024
The Commune

In a recent social media post on platform X, Anusha Ravi Sood, the executive editor of South First news portal, shared a video featuring Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath where he stated that UP had become the second-largest economy in the country. Sood quoted that UP was not the second largest economy in the country but it was Tamil Nadu as per RBI data. 

However, Anusha’s apparent lack of awareness regarding the latest economic updates raises concerns about her journalistic credibility. Despite numerous news articles in December 2023 confirming UP’s ascent to become the second-largest economy, Anusha seemed to rely on outdated data from FY 2021-22, where Tamil Nadu’s contribution was 8.82%. In the FY 2023-24 forecast and realization, UP has surged to 9.2%, surpassing Tamil Nadu, while Maharashtra maintains its lead at 15.7%.

While Sood’s post acknowledges that she quoted RBI data, her oversight regarding the RBI’s non-real-time updates makes one question her journalistic acumen. 

Peddling The North-South Divide

In a video released a few weeks ago, she talks about “Well-performing southern states claim fiscal injustice by Union government. What are their concerns?” However, the 17-minute video appears highly opinionated, primarily focusing on superficial facts.

Anusha’s opening statement, “India is a union of states,” is nothing but a fragile idea of India peddled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. This sets the tone for her narrative, seemingly aimed at establishing a divisive agenda. She conveniently neglects the significant contribution of Delhi and Maharashtra, which alone accounts for over 50% of durect tax collection. Despite their substantial financial input, these regions receive considerably less than the southern states, suggesting a disparity that Anusha fails to address.

Anusha Ravi Sood’s presentation of the direct tax map in her video also seems to be inaccuracies, as pointed out by a netizen. This thread reveals how funds are allocated after taking all components into consideration.

This also raises questions about the reliability of the data she relies on to make her arguments. 

Sood does not take into context the freebies that governments across the country are relying on for their votes.

A former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu once famously said, “Vadakku vazhgiradhu, Therku theigiradhu,” implying the perceived regional disparity where the north prospers while the south suffers. We ask whether Anusha tried to analyse the recent TN budget at least once? South districts received a pittance in comparison to KTCC in TN. Why has she not raised her voice against disparity among districts? 

In the video, Anusha’s focus on population and area as the main criteria for tax-sharing seems to be flawed. The Finance Commission considers several factors before it offers its recommendations. The weightage is given below in the latest Finance Commission.

In terms of horizontal devolution, the 15th Finance Commission has recommended a distribution formula with 12.5% emphasis on demographic performance, 45% on income, and equal weightage of 15% each to population and area. Additionally, 10% is allocated to forest and ecology considerations, while tax and fiscal efforts receive a 2.5% weightage.

If you consider a city like Bengaluru which generates significant revenue for the state government but receives disproportionately less in return. In contrast, a village in Karnataka, generating comparatively less revenue, receives more substantial returns. The analogy suggests a skewed system where the rich pay high but don’t necessarily receive equitable benefits. Let us assume for a moment that what the state does in Karnataka is right. Isn’t this what reservation and social justice are all about – helping the underprivileged? Are Anusha and her ilk selectively blind to this form of social justice, do they think this only applies to caste?

In this post, Amit Malviya of the BJP explains in detail about how tax devolution to states works. It would have helped if the likes of Sood had done a little bit of background research rather than firing blanks just to peddle propaganda of the leftist lobby.

If one goes by Anusha Ravi Sood’s logic for tax distribution at the state level, several questions come up – Why isn’t tax collected from Bengaluru utilized for the city’s benefit, and who bears the cost of the apparent freebies? One can extend this to ask why tax-paying citizens are penalized and high taxpayers don’t receive more in return.

Setting aside these concerns momentarily, it’s worth examining whether fiscal federalism was introduced by the Modi government. The same Anusha was probably tongue-tied or unaware of what happened during the UPA era or before. It was Prime Minister Modi who ensured states received more than what they were receiving before. And yet, they are not satisfied. Here is a statement by DMK Minister PTR Palanivel during the Jantar Mantar protest against the centre. Here PTR speaks of Narendra Modi who questioned why disparity was shown between states over fund devolution. In a post on his X handle amidst the ongoing ruckus being created by the I.N.D.I.Alliance partners concerning the central government “looting tax revenue” from states, he wrote quoting DMK Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan at Delhi Jantar Mantar protest, “There was a Chief Minister in India. He said that the central government is severely deceiving them and talked about the federal philosophy from side to side. He said that they are taking the tax money of our state and diverting it to some states: He is none other than the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, who is now the Prime Minister.” 

However, it is to be noted that after PM Narendra Modi assumed the PM post, he increased the allocation of funds to states. from 32% to 42%. Further, he reduced the weightage of the population in the tax distribution criteria from 27.5% to 15%.

Additionally, the funds available to states in the UPA regime (2004-14) was ₹30 lakh crore but from 2014-2023, this fund has increased to over ₹100 lakh crores.

Also, the tax sharing and assistance received by Tamil Nadu excluding NH, Ports, Railways, Railways, other Infra in the UPA regime (2004-14) was ₹1,52,921 crores. In the Modi regime (2014-23), it has increased to ₹5,08,337 crores.

Tamil Nadu has also received ₹10.76 lakh crores of funds, projects, and grants in the past 9 years under the Modi government.

By Anusha’s logic, each taxpayer should receive benefits in proportion to taxes paid. Will the likes of Anusha question the disparity in the allocation of funds between cities like say Chennai and Coimbatore or Bengaluru and Hubbali?

Being a journalist, Anusha seems to have absolutely no idea about the GST split which has been explained several times over and over again by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. 

States like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu seek more money to ensure their freebie promises are taken care of. A common man can easily understand between people-pleasing politics which is temporary and constructive politics which is pro-people and designed with a long-term vision that the central government follows. If Anusha is so concerned about this alleged south tax movement, maybe she can ask her Chief Minister why there is disparity within districts in Karnataka itself. In October 2023, the Karnataka government allocated ₹40 crore to 12 MLAs, primarily from the Congress party, as a part of the redistribution of special civic grants. The funds, originally designated for the CM’s Nava Nagarothana scheme in 2022, total ₹480 crore, with a focus on roadworks. This move raises questions about fairness and equal distribution among legislators, particularly as some BJP MLAs expressed dissatisfaction with the skewed funds’ allocation favouring Congress members. 

So will Anusha Ravi Sood first help the Karnataka Congress government fix its internal issues before pointing fingers at others, especially the centre? It will also help if she can learn some math, finance, and economics alongside her daily routine of staying updated with the news. 

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