I am not among those fuel sensitive people, who got riled up and start shouting slogans with different voices when there is a rise or fall of fuel price. The reason is, I know, Fuel price has one way to chart; unless we discover that sea water can be a substitute to scarce petrochemicals. Also, I commute to office on my Cycle. :)
These words of justification for fuel price rise from a CONGI will be a music to those Sanghi who are trying hard to justify each "U" turn of Modi Sarkar. I believe, most of the Congi would have a consistent stand on fuel price hike, train fair hike or similar such tough but INEVITABLE measures.
But, the issue becomes little complicated when you look at the campaign utterances and promises in the official party election manifesto, RIDING which the party has got the strongest mandate in terms of number in loksabha since 1984. Clearly, the voters 81% of them thought Congress has failed to deliver what it has promised, especially in the front of PRICE RISE. But, I guarantee they are merely showing knee jerk reactions to an issue which they seldom understand. Let me put two graphics to show what I am trying to say.
The pictorial data I have posted above speak for them selves. Since Congress came to power, the CRUDE PRICE has shoot up from $35/37 in 2004 to $ 147 in 2008 and now stabilized over $ 100. I have given the trend of petrol in four metros from 2002.
If we look at it closely, these things happened during full UPA term:
These are the TOUGH TASK of governance. They were well intended, but things do not pan out as you plan in a complex politics like us along with the uncertainties of the connected world.
Narendra Modi, used these contradictions in Indian politics to reach the highest political office. He uttered what the people wanted to here and obviously they were not able to think beyond their small world. Many of them started believing what he was FAKING in the hope that this man will remove Congress from the path of "Achey Din" waiting for them. I have tried to collect few of his campaign rhetoric, below:
These words of justification for fuel price rise from a CONGI will be a music to those Sanghi who are trying hard to justify each "U" turn of Modi Sarkar. I believe, most of the Congi would have a consistent stand on fuel price hike, train fair hike or similar such tough but INEVITABLE measures.
But, the issue becomes little complicated when you look at the campaign utterances and promises in the official party election manifesto, RIDING which the party has got the strongest mandate in terms of number in loksabha since 1984. Clearly, the voters 81% of them thought Congress has failed to deliver what it has promised, especially in the front of PRICE RISE. But, I guarantee they are merely showing knee jerk reactions to an issue which they seldom understand. Let me put two graphics to show what I am trying to say.
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| Crude Price Trend since 1997 |
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| Petrol Price in Metros Since 2002 |
The pictorial data I have posted above speak for them selves. Since Congress came to power, the CRUDE PRICE has shoot up from $35/37 in 2004 to $ 147 in 2008 and now stabilized over $ 100. I have given the trend of petrol in four metros from 2002.
If we look at it closely, these things happened during full UPA term:
- Development model changed from ONLY GROWTH to GROWTH + INCLUSIVENESS
- Social sector funding was increased
- Fuel price was hiked to fund the spending
- World fuel price increased by many times
- Fuel subsidy also increased because Govt. failed to deregulate the fuel for OBVIOUS reasons
- World including India fought two back to back economic crisis
- Investment slows down
- Govt. chose social equity over growth thinking that investment in HR would pay rich dividend later
- Rural wage and consumption rose
- Prices shoot up and middle class felt cheated, but they were very much part of the Indian consumption story
These are the TOUGH TASK of governance. They were well intended, but things do not pan out as you plan in a complex politics like us along with the uncertainties of the connected world.
Narendra Modi, used these contradictions in Indian politics to reach the highest political office. He uttered what the people wanted to here and obviously they were not able to think beyond their small world. Many of them started believing what he was FAKING in the hope that this man will remove Congress from the path of "Achey Din" waiting for them. I have tried to collect few of his campaign rhetoric, below:
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| Some campaign Posters |
Be it swearing in ceremony amidst the killing of soldiers on the LOC, the Chinese chopper in Arunchal, boats in ladkh or the map showing Arunchal as part of Chinese political map, be it his lack of response when a techies was killed in Pune and then crying for lack of honeymoon; reflects that this is not campaign. This is rigor of Governance and time to full fill the Tall Campaign Talk into reality.
There is another talk of abolishing Planning Commission; such talk of destruction of institutions are all good and can be passed on as flavor of the time. Right now, out of Anna Drama and Kejri Dharna, we all want to pull down one institution the other for the collective satisfaction of the MOB. Such news bites are great to here, as that reflects some sort of DYNAMISM in the Govt. But, does it mean that India will not have any institution which will do a medium to long term planning? Obviously, we need one. For the shake of doing something, Modi Sarkar might at best replace Planing commission with another lose body with personnel drawn from all ministries; just to show that this is "Less Govt & More Governance" But in few years, that has to be turned into a concrete platform with accountability built into it. Then people will call it another Planning commission. :)
Governance is Tough Task; Campaign is just Tall Talk.
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