government speaks like company sarkar

The Empowered Group of Ministers once again recommended steep hike in prices of petroleum products. The justification is increase in losses of petroleum companies.The Minister concerned and the party spokes person showed utter ignorance and insensitivity to the plight of common Indian by saying that the hike in prices in little. But they minced no words in explaining how huge are the losses suffered by the companies. In a country where 78 percent people live on 20 rupees per day how two rupees hike in kerosene prices can be said minimal? Or those who can afford cooking gas majority of them also belong to a strata of society where 50 rupees hike is going to make a lot of difference. The uninterrupted rise in the prices of food have put the people of this country in a difficult situation.Now saying this current rise in prices is insignificant is rubbing salt on their wounds. This also shows that this government is for the companies not for the people. It is not at all worried about worsening quality of life of Indian people. Otherwise it would have reduced its extravagant expenditures tried hard to contain corruption and thus provide relief to common people.

Plight of poor farmers.

Todays Jansatta- hindi newspaper carried a photograph of two old, famished poor farmers. One of them is sitting with stony face and the other crying inconsolably.The farmers are aggrieved because their agricultural fields have been destroyed to construct boundary wall for posco. Incidentally MOU signed with posco has expired on 22,6,2011. Still the state govt.is bent upon protecting and promoting their interests. Is there any agency responsible for the protection of rights of the elderly in the country? Would it take suo mo note of the helplessness these hapless farmers and ask the relevant authorities responsible for destroying their field explain under which law they have been displaced without ensuring proper rehabilitation. Under which law their agricultural fields have been taken for a MNC.

CAN THIS GOVERNMENT REALLY ENACT A GENUINE LOK PAL ACT?

Manmohan Singh’s Government is facing a real difficult situation. It is bewildered, ans clueless. Sandwiched between the public pressure generated by Anna Hazare and others on the one hand and its compulsions to protect the business and corporate interests on the other it is compelled to take a stand on Lok Pal Bill. It can not say no to enactment of the bill. But it can not enact a really effective bill.
Since the initiation of the policy of globalization and liberalization we have seen successive governments both at the Center and the state levels have overtly promoted the interests of business and corporate houses at the cost of common Indian people. The interests of business and corporate houses are also linked with corruption in India. There is hardly any MNC in the country who does not take recourse to corrupt practices. We know that Union Carbide in Bhopal was flouting all safety rules in operating its plant and when one of the worst industrial accidents took place the top functionaries of Union Carbide were protected by every body any body who mattered in the system. With the passage of time Governments did change but the protection shield to Union Carbide did not change. Same type protection is being extended to its successor now. Even the judiciary did not protect the victims. The same story is being repeated again and again. It might be doling out of tribal land and precious forest and mineral wealth in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, or snatching fertile agricultural land from farmers in U.P. Maharashtra etc. of putting the existence of fishermen in danger in Jaitapur. None of the branches of government dare to protect the interest of the people. In promoting the interests of the business and corporate houses, the government and administrations of the certre and the states is flouting its own rules both at the level of formulating and implementing policy. If our bureaucrats were honest they would have resisted both the formulation of this kind of anti people policy and its implementation.
In the nutshell the vested interest would see to it that the process of lok pal bill is scuttled. That is why the Congress has from day one started attacking the key figures spearheading the movement. Now the five ministers have started explaining how impractical and unconstitutional is the bill proposed by these people. What are the credentials of these five ministers? Do they have any roots among those who are worst victims of the policies followed by the governments under the pressure of business and corporate interests? Do they know how to protect the common people who are victims of corruption?They only know how to protect the interests of business and corporate houses. It is these poor people whom Rahul Gandhi calls Bharat. Does he stand for their rights ? No. Otherwise, he would have been in Orissa opposing POSCO. He goes and meets the affected people selectively to get political mileage out of their suffering.
It seems that in the Congress Party there is a clear division of roles. The government is busy protecting and promoting interests of the business and corporate houses. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi provide the human face. They tell the people about the packages given by their government to peoples belonging to different strata of society. Rahul Gandhi is very fond of telling the people ruled by opposition parties that the central government is sending huge amounts of money for them . But the state government is not disbursing it. This was probably the arrangement to which Manmohan Singh referred to development with human face.
Now on the vital issue of lok pal they both are quiet. Because, the packages also benefit the vested interests at home and abroad. The funds meant for poor go in the pockets of local vested interest which uses it to buy motorcycles, cars and other gadgets. Thus rural, semi- urban and urban India becomes a good market for the MNCs. Had the money meant to provide food, employment, education, houses and health to the poor reached the stake holders than the villages, small towns would not have been a good market for the business and corporate houses . Manmohan Singh’s package for the farmers of Vidarva did not reach them and the farmers’ suicide rate has remained unabated. Both the central government and the state government thereafter did not show much concern for these hapless people. Reports say corruption is one of the causes of this malaise. And it is because of this corruption spurious seeds, pesticides and fertilizers could be sold to hapless farmers.

Five Star Satyagraha Vs Common Person’s Satyagraha

Swami Nigamanand’s death gave media an opportunity to criticize political parties for their apathy to common Indians. One of the channels did raise the issue of discrimination between two satyagrahis belonging to two different classes of society by the media but did not tell why that particular channel was not different. Nor did it assure the viewers that it will in future pay heed to the struggles and problems of common Indian people. In spite of uninterrupted critique of others, these channels have ignored the peaceful satyagraha being waged by the children, women, old-infirm and youth of the villages loosing their land and forests to POSCO. Only one channel gave a short bite showing famished half clad people lying in open in hot summer and volunteers poring water in their thirsty parched mouths. After this we do not hear anything about the fate of this movement.
Similarly these channels focus on corruption is also halfhearted. Granting permission to POSCO in Orissa and not removing illegal stone crushers in Haridwar in Uttarakhand, both show elements of corruption. But this kind of corruption does not make news. Only when there is evidence of huge amounts of money stashed by politicians and bureaucrats becomes news-worthy not the covert corrupt practices used by the industrialists/ capitalists and the MNCs day in and day out in all parts of the country to promote their fortunes at the cost of common Indians and Indian environment.Had the corruption in totality been media’s concern than instances of farmers suicides would have been its top priority. Because farmers are cheated by politician, bureaucrat and businessman including the MNCs at each stages of agricultural production.

People's interests must be protected.

As the young children, women, old-infirm and youth of the region are opposing POSCO in Orissa, the popularly elected governments of the center and the state should give due consideration to their grievances and cancel the agreement with POSCO. Both the governments should remember that they are oath bound to respect the Constitution. The Constitution of India does not give them the right to appease the MNCs by sacrificing the interests of the local people, and local environment It is high time that our popularly elected governments learn summoning courage to protect the interests of the people and environment and respect the provisions of the Constitution. They are in power to serve the people not the MNCs

Baba Ramdev’s ‘Satyagraha’ : Some Questions

As expected Baba Ramdev’s ‘Satyagraha’is spilling a lot of beans. In the process a lot of questions are getting sidetracked. These questions are:
1- Are the five star protest actions in a country like India where majority of the people are poor appropriate? We all have seen many social activists sitting on hunger strike under a tree at Jantar Mantar with a pitcher of water and some lemons. Can people used to five star comfort feel the pang of hunger?
2- Is a satyagrahi permitted to enjoy the comforts of five star facilities? If no than why Baba called his protest action a satyagraha? Is he misusing Gandhi’s name to establish himself in the political arena?
3- Can satyagraha be staged by everybody or anybody? Gandhiji has defined dos and do’nts for a satyagrahi. One of the basic principles of a satyagrahi is always toe the path of truth. As reported in the press Baba booked the Ramleela ground for holding yoga camps. But the posters all over Delhi were advertizing indefinite fast by Baba and thousands of his devotees. When questioned by reporters Baba lightly replied that he would teach yoga, and it is his prerogative whether he teaches yoga by eating food or by remaining hungry. Can a satyagrahi play such pranks with truth? .
4- Is a satyagrahi afraid of death? After the 4th June incident Baba is repeatedly telling the press that police was after his life. They had come to kill him. It is to protect his life he went hiding , wore women’s clothes and was trying to sneak out incognito. But was caught.
5- Is not a satyagrahi a law abiding citizen both in letter and spirit? If a satyagrahi while staging satyagraha violates law he/she offers oneself to the law enforcing authorities to be punished according to law. If Delhi police thought Baba had violated law why did not he offer himself to be prosecuted according to the provisions of law? Why was he trying to flee?
6-The police action on unarmed people is highly condemnable. At the same time had Baba cooperated with the police thousands of women, old and sick people would have been saved from the harassment they faced on the night of 4th June. If the police and government crossed all limits of decency Baba also did not behave like a responsible leader of millions of Indian – a claim which he makes untiringly.He was and is more concerned for his safety and used his devotees as a shield. Even now he is doing so.
7- Baba claims his models are revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru, Sukh Dev etc. But when he was running for his life he did not think that for these revolutionaries it was not life but the cause was dear and they made highest sacrifice for the cause.