How can a person even move in urban area with Rs. 32 in his hand?
BHOPAL: BJP in Madhya Pradesh protesting against the Planning Commision by sending demand draft of Rs 32 each to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
It was a mocking at the Planning Commission affidavit in the Supreme Court that those spending this amount in urban areas would no longer be deemed poor by the government.
State BJP president and Rajya Sabha member Prabhat Jha also got two other demand drafts for Rs 26.70 each drawn in favour of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and planning commission vice chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and sent them as a protest, questioning the current methodology adopted by the commission to arrive at such cut offs and alleging that such ‘findings’ amounted to ridiculing the poor and poverty.
“Can those born with a silver spoon in their mouth realise the sufferings of the poor? Is it not a conspiracy to remove a vast population from below the poverty line?” Jha asked.
Can PM explain that those having Rs 32 in hand in urban and Rs 26 in rural areas could not be termed poor?
He said that he felt that the affidavit, presented by the planning commission in the apex court, appeared to be a move aimed at winding up the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). “Once the proposal is approved, majority of the present beneficiaries would be deprived of 100 days work under MGNREGS”, he claimed adding that the Congress government, which had won the previous elections on many populist schemes meant for the poor, was now trying to deprive them.
Congress lashed out at the state BJP president for sending demand drafts to Prime Minister and others saying that it was just a ‘political gimmick to catch media attention.’
Congress carelessly said, “BJP in MP is just trying to politicise every issue for narrow political gains. The ruling BJP leaders must concentrate more on repairing the bad roads in the state instead of meddling in matters which they don’t understand at all.”
(News Editor- Naushin Fatima Khan)
