Just a week before the budget, BJP orgainised a rally wherein all the so called farmers came to Delhi protesting and requesting for their loan to be waived off. The fleet of buses that came to Delhi and the rally thereon caused a major traffic hurdle for regular office goers.
I happened to be one of the hapless victims watching bus after bus coming to Rajghat from where the rally or the protest march was to begun. Each bus was a deluxe air-conditioned bus and about 100 buses had come and many more were on the way. I had a look at the people, most of them were youth, sitting on the top of the bus and enjoying the plight of us office goers. I felt they were just paid for a day to participate in the rally so that it looks like a vast majority of farmers. Someone later told me that Event management companies are given the responsibility for smooth functioning of the Protest and for getting the crowd. And of course there were so many incidentals, the flags, pamphlets, and other miscellaneous expenses that must have been incurred for to hold such a mammoth protest.
I am not in a position to comment about the financial ability of the farmer. And neither I am here to talk about the merit or demerit of loan waiving. The amount of money spent that day was really huge, and I am sure it could have been used by BJP to give at least to a couple of farmers to enable them to repay the loan.
This rally was more of a political gimmick and was because the BJP got to know that Mr. Chidambaram would waive off the loan in his budgetary speech and did not want the credit to got Congress.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I don't really know of the troubles you faced that day in the bus. Not even of which political party claimed credit for the rally. Or who actually funded it. All I do know is that for the FM of India to hear the sounds of Bharat (beyond the alluring music of Dalal Street) it must have made a very loud noise!
Much of the benefits would be cornered by fat-cat banks and the majority of the rest by the rich big growers but even if a fraction of the Rs 60000 crores was to reach the poor grower, it may save some lives and livelihoods.
(Just hope the fraction can be meaningfully large)
Post a Comment