QUESTIONS BEFORE ATALJI

 Kanti Biswas

HONOURABLE Vajpayeeji!  With all humility – I would like to put some questions before you. I would not try to know from you why you, by signing a bond, got yourself released from the police custody during ‘Quit India Movement’ in 1942.  I shall not, to your embarrassment, ask you to explain why you gave the details of the patriotic participants of that movement leading to their arrest. Leeladhar Vajpayee, your boyhood friend in his treatise Sriman Atal Bihari Vajpayeji, has raised all these questions.  However, I shall pose a few different issues which need to be clarified by you.

At the outset, when your government decided to dissolve Lok Sabha eight months ahead of its term and recommended for holding Lok Sabha elections in the months of April-May, have you considered that this will seriously disturb 1.24 crore students in the country who have to take Secondary and Higher Secondary standard examination scheduled to be held in the same time?

Your government has spent several hundred crores of rupees from government exchequer to boastfully claim that “India is shinning”, “India is flourishing” and that there is everywhere a “feel good” factor. It released 392 types of advertisement in 450 print media publications and 9,872 capsules of TV advertisements through 100 TV channels. However, can you deny any of the following miserable facts: -

a)         Poverty -     

• Global per capita national income   - $5,120

          Indian per capita national income    - $460

India is ranked 162. Only 29 countries are ranked below India (World Development Indicator – 2003 – Pages 15-16)

• 34.5 per cent of the families in India do not possess any TV, radio, telephone, scooter, or cycle.

b)  Income inequality in India: Share of income

            Poorest 20 per cent earn 8.1 per cent of total income

            Richest 20 per cent earn 46.1 per cent of total income

            (Human Development Report – 2003)

c)   Education:

            India is home to 16.8 per cent of global population.

           34 per cent of adults are illiterate

           In educational index of 94 developing countries India’s position is 76th

          Enrolment ratio of tertiary education – World 23 per cent, India only 10.5 per cent (UNESCO – Education for All Report – 2003-04)

d)  Financial corruption:

In the global corruption index, India is ranked 71st out of a list of 102 countries of the world. Only 31 countries are more corrupt than India (Transparency International Report – 2003)

e)   Economic situation of India:

• Foreign Debt in 1998-99 - $9,823 crore

          In June 2003 - $10,960 crore

• Unrealised Tax – Rs 47,444 crores on 31.03.1998

          As on 31.03.2002 it jumped to Rs 86,342 crores

         (Economic Survey 2002-03)

f)   Index of development after globalisation:

     India’s ranking among the 62 countries, which together have 84 per cent of global population:

                    In 2001 - 49

                   In 2002 - 57

                  In 2003 - 61

 (International Consultancy Agency and Foreign Policy magazine)

g)   Position of women:

• Cognisable offence against women 68,867 in 1990

           Cognisable offence against women 1,61,373 in 2000

• Per 54 minutes – one woman raped

• Per 26 minutes – one women molested

         (Crime Record Bureau)

h)   Human Development Index of 173 countries

        Position of India 115^th (2001)

        Position of India 127^th (2003)

       (Human Development Report 2002 and 2004)

i)    Foreign Trade:

        India’s Deficit $ 1,885 crores

        Highest in Asian Countries

        (Asian Development outlook – 2003)

j)    Health:

• Under – 5 infant Mortality rate

          (Per thousand live births)     World: 82      India: 93

• Per Cent Of infant with low birth weight    World: 14      India: 26

• Per Cent Of population using adequate

          Sanitation facilities               World: 61      India: 28

• Maternal Mortality Rate

          (Per lakh live births)             World: 400    India: 540

          (UNICEF: The State of the World Children – 2003)

k)   Employment:

• 1997 – 98      New Appointment – 2,75,000

          2001 – 02      New Appointment – 99,000

•  Rate of growth of unemployment

           1993-94                  5.99 per cent

           1999-2000         7.32 per cent

           (Union Govt. Annual Labour Report)         

•  Employees in organised sector

           1997   -           2.82 crores

           2001   -           2.77 crores

          (Economic survey 2002-03)

• 1991 – one Agro-Worker gets 100 days work in a year

          2003 – one Agro-Worker gets 72 days work in a year

l)   Price – rise (Govt. prescribed price)

          1 Lt. Kerosene Oil    1998 = Rs. 2.58        2004 = Rs. 9.02

          1 Gas cylinder           1998 = Rs. 135.98    2004 = Rs. 241.60

          1 Ton Urea Fertiliser            1998 = Rs. 3,680      2004 = RS. 4,830

m) Food:

         Per capita availability of food: 1999 = 426 gram.

        Per capita availability of food: 2001-02 = 385 gram.

       One-third of hungry people of the world live in India

        (FAO – Report)

n)  Rural Development

• Growth of agricultural production

          1992 – 97 = 4.62 per cent

          1998 – 02 = 2.02 per cent

• 1985-90 = 14.5 per cent GDP for rural development

          1990 – 97 = 8 per cent GDP for rural development

          1998 – 01 = 5 per cent GDP for rural development

• For the last 5 years, Rs. 30,000 crores reduced every year for rural industries, rural employment, irrigation, electricity, construction of road, flood control etc.

• Rural Rojgar Yojana – allocation for

          2001-02 = Rs. 15,195 crores

          2003 – 04 = Rs. 10,289 crores

• For rural infrastructural development allocation for last 9 years = Rs. 30,000 crores

         2003 – 04      -           N I L

Along with this horrible situation – attack on minorities, crime against Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes have alarmingly risen during last 6 years.

For all these serious offence and unpardonable crimes, you really should unconditionally apologise to the nation.

Are not all these data vividly and miserably falsify your motivated propaganda?  Would you care to respond?