Congress Undemocratic Ideology - 4

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[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/305440/Creating-a-shortage.html"]UPA has mastered the art of fleecing masses[/url]

While mounting popular anger against the rising price of onions — a kilo now costs up to `100 in many places — because of the UPA Government’s mismanagement of what many believe is an artificial scarcity meant to fleece the aam admi already reeling under the twin impact of inflation and galloping food prices is understandable, there really is no reason for surprise. [size="5"]Ever since the Congress returned to power at the head of the UPA in the summer of 2004, there have been three discernible trends. First, living costs have multiplied for every strata of society, more so for the poor and the under-privileged. Not only have daily necessities become more expensive, but food prices have become prohibitive.[/size] The aam admi, who is supposed to be the focal point of this Government’s policies and programmes and on whose plight Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi waxed eloquent to thunderous applause from the faithful at the party’s recent jamboree in Delhi, has been abandoned to his fate. Second, there is a pattern to the repeated shortage of essential commodities that has added to the woes of the masses. From pulses to wheat and sugar to onions, [size="5"]a severe shortage has been manufactured with the active connivance of Ministers, politicians, bureaucrats, traders and hoarders.[/size] The Minister who is supposed to ensure adequate supplies and price stability is more interested in ‘managing’ cricket than fulfilling his responsibilities. The [color="#FF0000"]Prime Minister, who is supremely indifferent to all issues of governance other than pandering to the US and appeasing Pakistan, which are the sole items on his agenda, would be clueless as to what has brought about the shortage in the supply of onions, just as he would be ignorant of the reasons behind the periodic spells of shortage economy that his Ministers help create for reasons that do not require elaboration.[/color] Third, this is a Government that is repeatedly caught ‘unawares’ and steps in to ‘manage’ food shortage at the last moment after the damage has been done and illicit profits reaped.



Corruption comes in various shades. It is not limited to Mr A Raja cheating the national exchequer while hawking 2G Spectrum to fly-by-night operators right under the nose of the Prime Minister. The creation of artificial scarcity — the Government could have imposed a ban on the export of onions and sourced supplies from the international market well in advance as everybody knew of this year’s crop failure due to heavy rains but chose not to do so — by Ministers in Mr Manmohan Singh’s team also qualifies as corruption because individuals stand to profit from such crises. Of course, it makes little or no sense to berate a regime headed by a Prime Minister who believes his job is done by giving bogus speeches on equitable growth and eradicating poverty while his team exerts itself to device ways and means of hitting the people where it hurts the most. Mr Sharad Pawar is no doubt to blame, as are bureaucrats in his Ministry and NAFED, traders and hoarders, for the shortage in the supply of onions and the consequent spiralling of its price in the retail market. But that does not absolve the Prime Minister of his responsibility. He is welcome to protest and whine about being targeted, but that will not detract from the fact that the latest shortage has been created under his watch. As always, he elected to remain silent.