Are You Really Concerned about the Poor, Mr PM?

I'm quite taken aback by the Prime Minister's rejection of Supreme Court's order for free distribution of wheat/rice to the poor people. What does he mean by saying that the Supreme Court could not get into "realm of policy formulation"?

Let us face it.The Supreme Court had to issue such an order because the officials of Food Corporation Of India allowed, criminally, 50 million tons of food grains to get rotten. This happens when the food price has skyrocketed beyond limit despite the Union government's "credible performance" and people under BPL(Below Poverty Line)- a staggering 46 crores in number- are pushed further down due to their abysmally low income - as low as Rs. 20/= a day. In this context it's only humane and laudable that the Supreme Court orders the food grains to be distributed to the poor free of cost. What's wrong with it. Mr PM? Are you not, as the head of the state, supposed to care for the poor and weaker section of the democracy that we boast of? The fact is that our PM, himself an economist, is a staunch champion of "Free Market Economy" and does believe in seller- buyer relationship only. There is nothing like free distribution in his scheme of things.

What a paradox NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL headed by Congress chief comprising eminent personalities and experts with their deep sense of humanity and objectivity is now thinking of formulating a "Food Security Bill" to ensure availability of food items round the year at a subsidized price to the people under BPL!

Lastly, if the govt. of the day can afford to exempt corporate tax to the tune of Rs. 62000 crores, allow three-fold hike of wages of the MPs, increase the wages of the public servant handsomely and pay stimulus to different business houses from to time, then why would not the SC's order be carried out with all the sincerity it requires to achieve the much talked-about programme of "Inclusive Growth"?

Are Bihar Maoists deviating?

The recent abduction case of the police by the Bihar Maoists and their release in return for the eight comrades in custody has  a queer element to it. It’s the terrorists who are used to doing such negotiation. But the Maoists rarely resort to such tactics.

In chattishgarh, for example, the Maoists fight with the security forces quite often, and have lost many of their comrades. Some of their comrades may have been arrested by the police in the process. But they have never abducted any cops, or any official for that matter, and raised demand for release of their arrested comrades.

 The  strategy does not conform to the  tenet of Marxist- Leninist-Maoist thought.

 Is it any adventurist line that the Bihar Maosts are pursuing? Are they disconnected with the other       Maoists elsewhere? Are the Maoists disintegrating?

The Maoists, during their long movement in different parts of India, won over a section of the civil society by their relentless mobilisation of the masses against the exploitations of the impoverished tribal people by the repressive government. Eminent personalities like B.L. Sharma, Prasanta Bhusan, Arundhati Roy, Swami Agnivesh, Soma Chowdhury and others now stand for them.

 It’s not sane – in fact, juvenile – for the Maoists to behave this way at the cost of their ideology.