“To be a man’s own fool is bad enough, but the vain man is everybody’s”, says Penn. The President’s address to members of both houses of Parliament on first day of the budget session was full of praise and hype for the UPA despite the gathering economic crisis. But such worthless propaganda does not carry any credibility as it does not in any way reflect the ground situation. If anything, the Government’s claims of doing a commendable job only serve to underscore its abysmal all round failure. Indeed, the Congress positioned itself in  2004 as the well wisher of aam aadmi pledging to work for his interests. But the truth is things are getting from bad to worse for the common man who is reeling under the impact of spiralling prices. The relentless rise in prices of essential commodities -particularly the food items-has broken the back of the common people. Even as the centre is touting an 8% growth rate and painting a rosy picture of our progress, the harsh reality is that starvation deaths are on the rise. For all its glib talk and brave yet empty rhetoric, the UPA has failed in its basic responsibility towards the nation. The government is callous enough to derive pride and satisfaction from an impressive annual economic growth but is it of any consequence to a billion people who are confronted by an uncertain future? The flawed policies of the present government have put basic things beyond the reach of the common man. There is a clear lack of urgency in the Union Government’s approach to tackling inflation. Prices of food grains especially sugar, pulses, rice and vegetables have gone through the roof in recent months. As a result, household incomes are being depleted by the unprecedented price rise. In India, 3% of the people earn about Rs 20 per day, 40% eat one meal a day and about 40% eat whatever is available. That means only 20% eat according to their choice. Needless to say, the exponential rise in the prices of essential commodities has made the common man’s life miserable.

Even though economic management was supposed to be the UPA government’s USP, yet it has been found wanting. More disconcerting was the fact that despite two world renowned economists- PM Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the same side of the fence, the scene is grim on the inflation front. Instead of addressing the real concerns of the people and dealing with economic crises with a clear perspective, what the government did was to convince the masses with a false sense of security that the country was indeed marching ahead. Infect, the crisis we face today is the result of our piecemeal approach and half baked efforts to tackle the problems affecting the economy, especially inflation and unemployment. The government, however appears to be unfazed and snugly insists that the situation is improving when indeed it is getting worse. “As stated by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the worst time is over. I am absolutely confident about that- the situation will change. We are in time for better days”, Agriculture Minister Mr. Sharad Pawar said while winding up a day long discussion in Lok Sabha on price rise. All this betrays the centre’s lack of commitment to rein in spiralling inflation.

Despite the presidential pat, the UPA regime has little to showcase other than a messed up economy. The gathering economic crisis finds the government unwilling to take hard decisions necessary to mitigate the crisis bedeviling the common man. The President’s claim that higher prices are “inevitable” is quite shocking. It is ridiculous that the president of a country like ours should advice the masses to get used to price rise. A government that despairs of delivering on a survival need-that is food-inspires little confidence about its ability to manage economy. It is ironical that a government that claims credit for sustained growth rate is averse to taking responsibility for the crisis of inflation.

With the BJP deciding to hit the Manmohan Singh government where it hurts most-its failure to anticipate and control the price of essential commodities, the UPA came under a scathing attack in both the houses which saw acrimonious exchanges. Attributing the unprecedented price rise on the flawed policies of the government as well as a series of scams in exports and imports of food grains, the opposition demanded a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into these scandals. Initiating a debate on the issue in Lok Sabha, the leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj slammed the UPA government on its “manipulated” story on the economic growth. “The actual reasons were scams in wheat, rice, pulses and sugar and all these items were consumed by the vast majority of the poor, Ms. Swaraj said. Pointing out the reasons for price rise enunciated by the president in her address were “unjustified and baseless” she asked for a probe to find out why decisions which led to “scams” were taken. Communist Party of India leader Brinda Karat also joined hands with the opposition in bringing the centre in her line of fire by terming the price rise as a “scandalous development” under the UPA regime. D. Raja of the CPI said that price rise was the most burning issue in the country today and there was resentment in the minds of people.

While it may be fair enough for the opposition to blame the government for its failure to control food prices, its protests marring the proceedings in Parliament shows that politicians on either side of the divide are not serious about causes they espouse. Inflation is a burning issue but Rajya Sabha has not been able to properly discuss the issue. No doubt, it is incumbent on the opposition to take on the government and expose its policy flaws before the nation, but things are not going to change if it stages a stormy exit every time the matter came for discussion in the parliament. In such a case there is little scope for dialogue or rational debate. Things will only change when politicians, both on the ruling and opposition sides discuss issues, debate alternatives and offer constructive suggestions. Both sides have to work together so that political consensus is generated around them and solutions come up.

Under severe attack from the opposition, the UPA government tried to absolve its responsibilities in tackling price rise invoking the excuse that there is a disconnect between the PMO and various ministries. The theme song of the leadership was that there were “practical difficulties” in coordination in a coalition government which were responsible for the failure to curb prices of essential commodities.

Having said that, the admission of “unhappy pressure” on food prices in the president’s address is no excuse for the ruling regime’s inconsiderate inaction. The centre needs to act without delay for protecting aam aadmi from the runaway inflation. A good beginning would be to crackdown on hoarders and profiteers. Supply of food items at controlled prices through the Public Distribution System is also a good option. Another measure would be to conserve agricultural land and not give it away freely for industries. Let’s hope that the admission of unhappiness in the President’s speech will lead to some corrective measures that have so far been missing.