Belated attention

At last the UPA government appears to have woken up to the soaring prices of edibles and essential commodities. Unchecked rise in food inflation has made the essential commodities out of the reach of common men all over the country. In the last six months the prices have gone sky-high without any check. The prices of rice, wheat, edible oils and sugar have run away and have recorded highest in the decade. The back of the poor has broken under the burden of unchecked price rise of edibles. It has become very difficult to make the arrangement of bread and even salt for them. The entire country has been into into unbearable situation due to price rise. On the one hand entire country is facing the brunt of sky-rocketing price of sugar and edibles,including vegetables, the UPA government is sleeping. At last, when the situation became very volatile over the price-rise issue, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called the meeting of his Cabinet Committe on Prices in which Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar faced the ire of his Cabinet colleagues and allies on the issue. It is only because of Pawar's utter failure to handle the agriculture ministry. How carelessly and callously the Union Agriculture Minister takes the issue of soaring prices of sugar was reflected in his reply to a query to newsman that he is not an astrologer to tell when will the price come down. The minister should know that astrology has nothing to do with the determination of sugar prices. It is his faulty policies and lack of foresightedness on his party that have resulted in the soaring prices of sugar. The drum that Congress is beating for the Aam Admi is proving to be a mere gimmic in view of the sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities. When the government is purported to be of Aam Admi, its policies must be made to benefit them. It is also correct to say that most of the states governments fail to lift up its quota of wheat and rice in time that caused scarcity in the market. The Public Distribution system is also run by the state governments where they also have failed misreably. It is also the administrative responsibility of state governments to act sternly against black marketeers, profiteers and hoarders so that they could not create artficial shortages of essential commodities. Keeping in view the alarming price rise,Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is going to meet CMs to ask them to take appropriate measures to bring it down. Now Agriculture Minister has promised to bring down prices of essential commodities and sugar in 8 to days. It is to be seen how he delivers his promise. Undoubtedly drought this year has also contributed in the rise of prices of edibiles but it is a natural phenomenon for which the government should have made policies in advance to fight it. In Democracy, the primary duty of the government is to take public welfare-measures first and then act for the growth of market economy to compete in international arena in this age of globalisation. Market should decide the price of sugar but the regulatory power must be in the hand of the government because it is ultimately the government which is solely accountable to the public.