Retrieving pro-poor image

Congress-led UPA’s assurance to Aam Aadmi that its hands are with them is proving to be false day by day. UPA government despite being led by world renowned economist Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, its failure on all major issues facing the country has increased its anxiety and people’s suspicion about its ability, credibility and honesty.

The government is already under pressure from the charges of corruption. In the meantime, planning commission presented its view based on Suresh Tendulkar Committee to determine the criteria to an individual to be called poor to keep within Below Poverty Line (BPL). It has fixed that those who live on Rs 32 in urban and on Rs 26 in rural areas are not poor. This criterion of poverty is bereft of any sense in the time of back-breaking price rise of all commodities and unprecedented food inflation. This senseless poverty line criteria presented by planning commission to the apex court has given credence to the building of opinion among the public that neither the Manmohan Singh –led UPA government nor the Congress Party has any interest in the lightening of the burden of the poor people of the country. Congress President and UPA Chairperson at last appear to have realized that in the race for going after the economic reforms, the government is unable to read the writing on the wall. She reportedly felt that if the government was not pressurized to work for the poor, the Congress Party’s already sagging morality and poor rating will dip further to irretrievable level. National Advisory Council of which Sonia Gandhi is herself Chairperson has already achieved some extra-ordinary achievements, which are pro-poor and pro-poor. They are: MNREGA, RTI, RTE and others. The Food Bill is expected to be in final shape very shortly. Congress Party President has played pivotal role in formulation, preparation and enactment of all these landmark achievement for the government. NAC consists of several members from different fields. They are experts in their respective fields. Arua Roy and Harsh Mander , social activists and the members of NAC, raised serious objection to planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s presentation of poverty line criterion fixing Rs 32 in urban and Rs 26 in rural areas as above poverty line in the Supreme Court. Mrs. Roy has rightly asked Ahluwalia to show the people how an individual can manage a day on bare Rs 32 in town and Rs 26 in village.

The Congress Party also built up pressure on government to review its criterion of poverty . Under pressure from all corners, Ahluwalia took Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh into confidence and agreed to de-link the income of an individual from availing the benefit of the government schemes. It means income would not come in the way of availing benefit from government schemes. This is most welcome and it has relieved the people a little but the larger pain of sky-rocketing price rise is yet to be reined in. But to uplift the life of the poor people, it is necessary what their exact number in the country is. Different economists under whom committees have been formed have taken different methodology to fix the number of poor. That is Sengupta, NC Saxena and Tendulkar Committees’ reports recommend the following percentage of poor live in the country. Sengupata Committee reports 77 per cent, NC Saxena 50 per cent and Tentulkar 23 per cent of population below poverty line. The UPA government needs to formulate a simple and suitable mechanism to know the exact number of people living below poverty line based on sensible, practical and pragmatic criteria.