People's Democracy

DELHI

AIDWA Protests Budget Inadequacies

THE Janwadi Mahila Samiti of Delhi, an affiliate of the All India Democratic Women�s Association (AIDWA), organised a protest demonstration at the Parliament Street on July 7 to protest against the inadequate measures in the budget to redress the condition of the vast majority of the people, including women of the country, in these times of economic slowdown and high prices of food items.

While inflation might be showing negative figures, the prices of food items continue to increase. On the eve of the budget session, the UPA government has increased the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 4 and Rs 2 respectively, which will only guarantee further price rise.

In the budget, the finance minister has given his approval to an increase in the price of food grains by Rs one per kg for Antodaya families and a cut in the allocation of food quotas by 10 kg for BPL families in the name of the food security legislation.

None of the government's promises to women, including the widow pension scheme has received increased allocations.

The allocation for social security schemes for the unorganised sector, which comprise a large number of women workers, including home based workers, is only Rs 100 crore which is not even a fraction of the amount required for social security coverage of workers who comprise 92 per cent of the total workforce.

It is even more shocking that the Economic Survey presented by the government seeks to restrict subsidy to only eight LPG cylinders per year per family.

The Janwadi Mahila Samiti has warned that it will fight for the rights of the common people, particularly women in our country, and expressed its opposition to the policy orientation of the government which is moving away from the mandate given by the aam aadmi in the recently concluded elections. (INN)