Motion of Thanks On President's Address On 24 Feb 2011
Respected Sir, at the outset, I express my gratitude through you to the hon. President and the Government for at least now acknowledging in the form of Presidential Address to both the Houses about various problems confronting the nation and the common man of the country. But I am disillusioned to note that the Government has not given any ray of hope to address any of the problems confronting the country.
The Address refers to problems of inflation, poverty, energy shortage and so on as if these issues surfaced only yesterday. The Congress Party is in the front for maximum part of our post-Independence governance, either directly or indirectly, and has been deceiving the people of this country with the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao”. If the intention of the Congress Party and, more particularly of the UPA Government, is really to relieve the country from poverty, inflation and other social problems, they should have informed the Members of the House as to what held them back from delivering their promises.
The President has mentioned that the aam aadmi has to be protected against the ravages of the worst ever global economic crisis since the great depression and also against the failure of the monsoon in large parts of the country in mid-2009. But I am dismayed to mention that this Government has done the least for the aam aadmi. The price rise is the glaring example. During the last two years, the prices of essential commodities have risen and in spite of the public outcry, the Government has done the least on the price front, what to mention on the ravages of the global economic crisis. Session after the Session, the price situation in the country is mentioned and discussed and the Ministers and the Prime Minister give assurances in the Parliament to curb the prices. This is the most glaring failure of this Government.
It is unfortunate that the statistics clearly prove the fact that though the Government boasts of economic growth in successive Plans, if we see the Planning Commission’s Report, in the context of the growth of the economy, from First Plan to Tenth Plan, we will find that it is from 3.5 per cent to 7.7 per cent.
If our economic growth has been so consistent, obviously, the levels of poverty ought to have come down proportionately. However, the harsh fact remains that in 1973, there were 32.13 crore people below poverty line and this number stood at only 30.17 crores in the year 2004.
The above facts clearly indicate that our Plans hardly did anything to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. I would like to mention here that the time has come for serious introspection as to whether our Plans contributed towards strengthening of the rich or the poor.
Sir, the views expressed by the Government regarding protection to the farming community in the form of Minimum Support Price, supply of inputs at a subsidized prices and food security did not reflect the correct scenario at the ground level. Though the Government goes on for an ambitious plan of food security, it has not been able to reduce the wastage and increasing the storage capacity for the foodgrains. In fact, Sir, our farmers want level-playing commercial environment to sustain their income. It is unfortunate that the Government failed to mention the number of suicides by farmers in various States, more particularly, in my State, Andhra Pradesh, where the current Government boasts of spending a lakh crore rupees for the benefit of farming.
I am perplexed if the Government has initiated so many measures for the benefit of farmers, then, why have we not been able to address the problem of suicides by the farmers?
Sir, the President in her Address mentioned that the Government has worked single-mindedly to build on the achievements of its earlier term to deliver the promise of faster and more inclusive growth.
But I am constrained to mention that the major achievements of the earlier term of the Government are very glaring now before the country in the form of 2G spectrum and the Commonwealth Games scams. If this is inclusive growth, I wonder where this country is heading. It is amusing that the Government made a statement that it is committed to (Time-bell) quality governance, transparency, probity and integrity.
If that is the case, the people of this country are anxious to know as to why it has costed them one full session of Parliament in securing a JPC probe against the scandal related to 2G spectrum involving...
