THE TALE OF THE 'POOR' SPEECH

R.K. Lakshman, one of the greatest cartoonists wrote a cartoon decades back. In that cartoon a beggar is seen looking at a hoarding of a famous cloth mill that reads " 65% Cotton and 35% Polyester." The beggar who has only a piece of cloth round his waist to ' protect his honour' says, " Yes! I am 5% cotton and 95% me." It speaks volumes. The same cartoonist wrote a small story, "The King's visit" where the students of a school are made to stand in simmering heat for the King's visit and the feelings of a boy towards the whole saga, who keeps playing with a wasp when the "King " passes by.

I remembered the cartoon and the story when I read about the address of the "PM in waiting" of the Grand Old Party of India in Rajasthan the other day. It is anybody's guess that in India most political meetings, except a few that were being addressed by Indira Gandhi, NTR and now being addressed by Sri Modi Jee and few others, the audiences are selected and selectively brought in truckloads. So, their interest in the meeting is usually that of the boy playing with the wasp when the king passes by. Hence, whatever he speaks, most of the time the response is muted unless a local leader gives a hint from the dais to "shout" or "clap". This happened, I feel, in the aforesaid meeting too. Or else the Media would have been abuzz with exaggerated accounts of the numbers that flocked the meeting voluntarily and the response the young icon of the Gandhi family got from the crowd. That did not happen.

Now, to the speech part. This young man seemed to have formulated many theories about "poverty" in India, that his grand mother claimed to have eradicated decades back and of which his mother is said to have reduced the impact  with the help of Economists of Nobel calibre and a high calibre economist PM and Planning Commission Chairman. First he said "poverty is a state of mind", by which he meant it was an "illusion". Where is poverty? Not in the palatial houses that our politicians live! In the meeting he brought out his new theory. "Poverty is the result of sickness and disease and Rajasthan government is supplying free medicines to fight sickness and we will ensure the same is replicated in the whole country". If you are under illusion that disease and sickness are the result of poverty, forget it. Poor do not get sick, but sick get poor. What an illuminated mind? Get free medicines and forget poverty. 

Then, he said proudly. " Our old slogan was  "aadhi roti khayenge, Congress ko layege (will eat half chappati but ensure victory for Congress", and  he said "after the Food Security Bill, the party has coined a new slogan - "Pet bhar ke roti khayenge, Congress ko jitayenge (We will have a full meal and ensure victory for Congress)". So, he accepted the fact that poor people attending the meeting came with half filled "stomachs" but were still voting Congress. (The Food Security Scheme is yet to be rolled out). Does this not remind us the Cartoon and the poor people brought there might have mused "Yes! Our stomachs have half food and half gasses".  See the affection Congress suddenly developed for poor voters who were electing them with empty stomachs for 66 years! Now, they are kind enough to grant them security of "Full Meal" with a simple 5 kg grains. We can ask Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge Universities to introduce these new theories in "Economics of Poverty" subject, so they can produce Nobel laureates and future PMs for India. 

"We want your children to see big dreams" he furthered his talk. He meant, "till now we ensured you dreamed big and now it is for your children to dream bigger". Is it not? His great grandfather saw a dream. His grandmother became PM. She saw a dream. Her son became a PM. His mother is seeing a  bigger dream. He wants to be elected PM. His pet theory is "If dreams of Gandhi-Nehru family could be fulfilled, why not yours?" 

He castigated  the opposition for resisting passage of Food Security Bill in Parliament. They wanted that. It did not happen. If BJP opposed the bill they would have gone round the world saying "See, we wanted to feed you, they came in the way". Even though the bill saw a smooth passage their grudge remained that they could not blame opposition for coming in the way of the bill. Poor illiterate people, they do not know the truth. So, tell a lie! Lies travel faster than truth. 

"When it comes to schemes for the poor, they ask where the money will come from. But, when mines are to be allotted and land is acquired then nobody raises questions. This is the difference between them and the Congress party," he said. I think he does little home work about facts. Mostly, he reads speeches written by others. Only difference is his mother is seen as reading speeches from  a paper and he gets it by heart. Or else, he would not have broached the subject of land acquisition and mines. It is in everyone's  knowledge what happened with land and mines during the past nine years and who grabbed lands and who Were allotted mines.  

"They want only 500 people to enjoy riches, travel by cars and planes'. Here too his home work is poor. They brought reforms. They made more number of billionaires. They kept, by their own admission, 67% of people in abject poverty with "Adhi Roti". They broadened the rich-poor gap, by not ensuring more employment but rolling out freebies. Their growth targets never included poor. They macro managed the economy and forgot the foundations on which they built their castles. They travel in huge cars with Z+ security cover. Their PM never talks on land but only on board a chartered plane. They get the best medical treatment abroad and now he says "we stand for poor and they stand for the rich" and he speaks about inclusive growth,

Poor can not read this. They can not understand the lies and further lies. It is for middle classes and educated to educate the poor and illiterate. Let us take it as a mission and try to reach out to poor, illiterate people and educate them how they are being exploited by the rulers. Let us be the 'beacon lights' for a change in the system. 

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