Sunday, January 24, 2010

Price rise in India has transactional root-cause

It was just 100 days before 2009 Lok Sabha polls kicked off, our 'beloved economist' Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh made a public promise to a billion
which later was published in Congress elections manifesto too, was that the government, if re-elected, would bring essential commodity prices down in first 100 days of coming to power. Well, among the many more follies of the 'Congress 09' company, the most visible and most impacting to masses is its condemnable and disastrous failure to be even close to fulfilling that promise. In stead, by first 100 days of re-election of 'Congress 09', prices of all essential commodities, including sugar, potatoes, grains, onion, pulses, oil and vegetables have skyrocketed exponentially. And natural question comes first, could it be avoided? And answer is simple 'yes'.


As agro-minister Mr. Pawar comments irresponsibly, as if he has nothing to do with the price rise, it gives black-marketers and hoarders nothing but direct patronage. Sugar price has increased by 70% in last five months. And what a callous government chosen by a billion who can not even cap it. Is it just poor produce and drought as the 'ambitious' minister blames? FCI storage houses are overflowing with our own produces. Public distribution ministry of this culprit government itself could not resist reporting wide-spread aberrations in distribution system. When godowns are overflowing with Rs 12 - Rs. 14 per kilo wheat, government imported wheat from distant shores at Rs. 19 a kilo and now selling the imported wheat at Rs. 22.

What an incredible means to loot. Diary product prices have been steady for some time till 2009. But a single statement of the this minister on dairy sector has its dues, triggered milk price rising dramatically from the next day. And now the result is dairy product is 30% up in just a month. Almost all diary corporations have argued and decided to increase milk price by Rs. 2 Rs. 5 a kilo. Who is driving this? And why?

The reasons are transactional. 'Congress 09' company has a huge debt in market since last Lok Sabha polls. The huge burden on exchequer imposed forcefully by the party on account of expenses related to mass-campaigning, buying out voice of media, administration, bureaucracy and election commission can only be recovered in this way. In this context, I recall, the burden on 2004 was recovered through a similar artificial price hike of commodities and petroleum when petrol and diesel prices went down in the rest of the world and as announced by OPEC. A 'scam' being staged term after term.

How many more will you add to your feathered-hat Mr. Manmohan? Failure in 26/11 diplomacy, failure in dealing with China's pressure-game, failure in Sharm el-Sheikh summit with Pakistan, failure in climate change draft in Copenhagen, failure in encashing a power-shift in USA in country's favor, failure in Nepal relationship, failure in resolving out any bilateral solution with Australia to tackle racist attacks on Indians, failure in curbing Naxalites, failure in probing any scam - from Satyam to Madhu Koda, failure in fulfilling Mr. Pranab Mookherjee's much touted and reactive 'commitment' to work on Swiss & other off-shore accounts - a continuous saga of failures. And now price rise is squeezing citizen's blood out.

But who cares, this is a skewed-democracy where the pillars of democracy are sold out to a family. In democracy, people get the government they deserve. And no surprise, a section of people are still being in honeymoon with 'lollypop' faces nighting out in slums and operating on gimmick-ed politics. And a sold-out host of 'devil's advocates', like Rajdeep Sardesai, Burkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose glorifying, with mutual evil interests.

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