Finally Ms Sheila Dikshit has spoken the truth: the
government exists for the rich; the poor will only get alms. She has fixed the amount at Rs4 per day per
person. Rs600 will be enough to meet the
food requirements of a family of 5 persons, according to didi. They can buy daal, rice and wheat in that
amount.
Her party is annoyed with her for speaking the truth
about the government’s intentions. We should be grateful to didi for giving us
an indication of things to come.
In the neoliberal system which India has accepted
lock, stock and barrel, the real rulers are the capitalists. The government exists only for the sake of
formulating policies which will enable the capitalists to take over the resources
of the country at minimum rates. The Economic
Survey 2009-10 stated without mincing words that “prices are best left to
the market.”
There will be no welfare government anymore. No welfare schemes, no subsidies, no Public
Distributions Systems. Instead the
government will deposit a certain amount (Rs600 per family?) in the bank
accounts linked with the aadhar numbers of the poor people. The poor can now rejoice. They can buy food of their choice from places
of their choice with the amount (Rs600) that their government will generously
offer them.
What didi is saying in effect to the aam aadmi is
this: “Don’t rely on your government anymore; the real rulers are the
businessmen.”
Don’t think that it is just the didi’s party that will
say this. Look at the way the SP, BSP or
the DMK behaved when the issue of Foreign Direct Investment was brought into
debate. They staged a walk-out in order
to hoodwink the aam aadmi while, with the same walk-out, paving the way for
passing the bill. They have all mastered
the craft(iness) of hitting two birds with one shot.
Only Didi had the candidness to tell us (the aam
aadmi) frankly: “We’ll only be able to give you alms. We have sold ourselves to the capitalists.”
"No cake?! Let them have bread instead!" ;)
ReplyDeleteNot even bread, Chinmoy. Only roti and daal! A bit of rice, if necessary.
DeleteMy family, as of now, is 4 people. All of us went for registering AADHAR on the same day. Only two us have got the document. Therefore, our monthly entitlement is Rs. 240/-!
ReplyDeleteRE
My wife and I, as well as many others on the campus, are still waiting for our aadhar numbers, though our photos and fingerprints and so on were taken a year ago. I wrote to the emial id provided in the UID website; but no reply as usual with govt affairs.
DeleteWhen they made a pilot study in Rajasthan it was found that the scheme of Direct Cash Transfer didn't work successfully (See latest Frontline for details). If they cannot make it work even in a pilot study conducted in a limited area, how will they make it work all over the country?
It is not Sheila's fault. Correct me if I am wrong, these same voters never miss a chance to queue up and vote for her while the rich stay back in their palaces or whatever you have. No, I am not favouring the rich, I am only a couple of notches above the Rs. 600 per month slot. But we reap what we sow.
ReplyDeleteThe poor man has dreams when he goes to vote. The dreams of the rich don't depend on the govt. That's the difference. Congress or BJP or any party - it will make little difference to the aam aadmi. Shall we vote for Aam Aadmi Party and hope for a difference?
DeleteMatheikal, the rich are not dependent on the government, true. Only because, they work the government in the lean times, between the elections! You are setting yourself up for a dispiriting fall by depending on AAP. Call me a cynic.
Delete.. and alms will be there only before the elections. After the elections aam admi can wait for "socially responsible" business persons to think about their less fortunate brothers and sisters and give them something
ReplyDeleteAlms, again, in the name of social responsibility - you're so right.
Delete