Budget 2010 and " AAM AADMI"

.............................. By Sivapriya Krishnan

The finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and the rest of the hoi polloi sitting in discussion with Prannoy Roy, the other day at the NDTV Budget discussion,were raving about the excellent fiscal measures and the pivotal role that the government is playing in agriculture, FDI etc etc. Alongside Pranabji also said that the budget has been made keeping in mind the " AAM AADMI".

In defining this "aam aadmi" the government and the economic hoi polloi definitely seem to have a disconnect with actual ground reality. Who in their view is this person? Looks like they are still in the hunt for this so called "mythical underdog" !!

AAM AADMI is the not the one below or just above the poverty line, as the government still thinks. AAM AADMI is not just the one still on the road, daily wage earners and the like.

AAMAADMI's are also People travelling by two wheelers or small and medium cars, people who work 24x7 for their roti , kapda, makaan and EMI ( for House and vehicles ) , save for their sons education, save for their daughters education and prestigious affair called marriage ( these girls give a double hit!!), be they "blue collared" or "white collared" , each according to his merit and desire, ..... are all
"aam aadmi.(s)" ..... ' the janata' !!

This aamaadmi has no great political or socialite clout, still believes in rooted middle class family values, earns his holidays and does not get the time to use it, uses his skill and qualification to do his job, is in the constant fear of being thrown out of his job at any point in time, also gets thrown out at times and seeks fresh jobs, sinks into loans for house or has to pay hefty advances and rentals for a cubhole of a house , pays EMI's for ACs, fridge, microwave , washing machine , battles with heavy medical bills for the family and extended family ........ ooPhs .... but yet , he or she goes about the task like a true "Karma Yogi" with the hope of seeing light at the end of the dark tunnel which grows and grows ........!

Dal from 30-70-120 rs., oil from 60-190 rs., sugar from 15- 25- 50 rs., petrol well above 60rs., onions from 8- 15- 24 rs., potatoes well above 30rs., tomatoes 25-30rs., all in a span of a year and a half, Mr.Finance and Prime Minister ;
: are these not some basic indicators of the injury done to the aamaadmi's pocket or is it some strange bullet from no where?

To top this list, from this budget onwards, the prices of all consumer household durables have gone up. Cars are costlier, petrol even more costlier, food costliest, thereby creating that spiralling web of inflation around this "aamaadmi" as a noose around his neck, who is already into a debt trap, in which he/she can neither live peacefully nor die peacefully !!! ( akin to the Don Loin's joke of liquid oxygen !! -liquid use' jeene nahin dega, oxygen use' marne nahin dega).

These days even death is very costly, considering the cost of a funeral and the rites thereof !!

And here we have our esteemeed PM making statements on pricing in the hallowed portals of world meets and summits like the one below :
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Quote : made by The PM, from todays papers:
Any increase in prices does hurt some section of people, but we have to take a long term view. We cannot save people from inflation if we follow all along populist fiscal policies,' Manmohan Singh said. He was speaking to the media Monday on board the special aircraft that brought him back to New Delhi from his three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.

'The direct effect of the increase in fuel prices on wholesale prices will be no more than 0.4 percent,' he said.

'There is some escalation (in prices) but my hope is that now that the new rabi (winter) crop coming into the market, prices that have caused a great degree of concern like those of wheat, sugar, oilseeds, pulses will see some moderation and that the economy has the capacity to absorb this hike in oil prices without setting in motion any inflationary spiral.'
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With all agricultural tax holidays, subsidies and so on, we only see more marginalisaion of farmers and farmer suicides !! Farm land is slowly vanishing and turning into industrial estates. Farmers' sons dont farm; they choose to work as cheap daily or contractual labour for the Hyundais, Nokias and the SaintGobains of the country !! We shamelessly import grains and sugar to feed our own Indian souls. So much for a country which claims to be 70-80% agricultural !!

As the industrialist Mr.Narayanamoorthy the other day told NDTV , India shining will only be on that day, when every Indian has access to decent living , affordable food , education, medical facilities and jobs well his or her worth. Do we see this shining star in the near horizon?

U know what? Toy Balloons will cost less this year !! Anybody for a joy ride with gas balloons ? ........?