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Bharat bandh

Sir john

By Sir john
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gaurav92 Newbie

gaurav92

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There seems to be no end to the common man's worries and woes. With the central government deregulating oil prices and inflation already at a record high, Indians are gasping for breath as prices of essential commodities spiral out of control. Amid this, the National Democratic Alliance and the Left parties have announced a 12-hour nationwide strike on July 5 to protest against petro price hike while demanding a rollback of the hike. How effective are these strikes to solve an issue as vexing as this? Aren't strikes a bane for a nation already reeling under a heavy dose of inflation? Don't strikes put more pressure on an inflationary economic structure like India's? Rediff.com presents the voice of India on whether the proposed Bharat Bandh to counter rising price rise will serve the purpose. "For the last six months, I have been planning to save some money from the pocket money that Ma gives so that I can buy a camera. But I did not manage to save anything at all, thanks to the unbridled price rise. "Ma keeps complaining every day that things are just going out of hands. She is a single parent who runs the house on a paltry salary she gets from an NGO job. "Things were not that bad even a six months back. But now? We have stopped having non-vegetarian food daily and have also stopped going to the movies. I wish the political leaders came up with a solution. And by solution, I definitely don't mean a bandh like the one that is due on July 5. "A strike can be a problem only, not a solution. It's a move that just pulls our country backwards. The leaders are too smart. They think we, the people who elect them, are fools. "If the Opposition thinks they would win over us by just playing these gimmicks, they can't be more mistaken. The people, who are just struggling to make both ends meet, have seen through these politicians. Their ploys and deception won't cut a dice. The troubling inflation has to be curbed no matter what. "Political figures that would do something constructive would be hailed by the people but those who would capitalise on the issue to gain mileage would achieve nothing. "Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance took the people for a ride in the past and they had to go. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance has started treading the same path. It is just ignoring the people's needs. And by doing that, it is committing a grave political mistake. "It is the duty of the government to feed its own people. If it can't, it has to go. The answer to price rise does not lie in the Opposition calling for a bandh but in making the popular voice heard in Parliament loud enough for it to succeed and to topple a useless government." "Another bandh on July 5. Another day of no work and no pay. Are the political parties out of their minds? What will a bandh achieve? For them, political mileage. For us, starvation. "I earn Rs 150 per day by selling vegetables in and around Patuli in Garia, south Kolkata. With this meagre sum, I run our family of four. My wife works as a housemaid in the vicinity. We both pool in from our income to send our kids to school at a time when uncontrolled inflation is milking our savings dry. "And on July 5, we would be deprived of our day's earnings. I heard the Opposition parties have called the bandh in protest against price rise. But have they made arrangements to feed us on that particular day? Can a strike ever be the solution for any problem, whatsoever? Will all essential commodities be available at a cheaper price post July 5? "Will my wife and me be able to save more from July 6? NO! Everything will either be the same or take a turn for the worse. Yet the political parties would have to call a bandh just to prove a point. "At times, I feel even monarchy or dictatorship is better than the democracy that we live in. I am illiterate. Political ideologies are not excatly the things I should talk about. But as a commoner, I do understand that a democracy should be pro-people. If so, ours is no democracy at all. Shame on this government!" "I am a poor man. My morning starts with worries and ends with them. My family of four has to do with Rs 2,500 that I earn every month from this tea stall. It is needless to mention here that recent inflation has eaten into our savings and rendered us poorer. "Thanks to the political leaders, who have called a bandh on July 5, we will be deprived of our daily income. Hence I have decided to keep this tea stall running for four hours extra everyday to make up for the loss. And these extra hours at work are just killing me! But then that won't affect the politicians. Why should they bother about nobodies like us? That we are the electorate is a thing they 'care' to remember only during election. "After all who doesn't know that the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre is safe for four more years. Therefore, it can go on hiking the prices at will and the Opposition can go on calling strikes over its decision. We, the poor and the marginalised can rot in hell. "The babus working in government offices must be elated over the fact that the bandh quite conveniently falls on a Monday -- they will get an extended weekend. In fact, I overheard some of my customers planning a short trip for those three days. "We have all marked July 5 as a holiday in our daily schedule. How will we spend that day? We will wake up late, chat for hours over tea, watch television and spend quality time with our families. After all, we are the lucky middle class. We don't lose our daily wage for a bandh. Rather, we earn a much-awaited holiday. "The hike in petro prices will affect the middle class extensively but a bandh by the Opposition parties in protest against that hike will have little or no effect on them. It will indeed impact the poor and the marginalised -- those who toil hard to earn their livelihood. But why should the political parties think about them? "They would rather use the issue of price rise as an elction plank. Who knows, it might help them win the election next time. Who are the political parties trying to fool, anyway -- the people? If that's the case, they must remember that theirs is a futile attempt. "People of India, no matter how brainless they may seem to the political voices, are mature enough to see through ploys and deception. It is they who elect the governments. Therefore, it is they who should decide if there would be a bandh or not. "Even a child understands that price rise does not affect a politician as much as it affects the commoners. Therefore, no political party has any right to announce a bandh on behalf of the people without their consent. If they fail to acknowledge this simple fact, they should at once resign from their respective posts." This is what the people had to say on this Bharat Bandh and the Price Hike issue.It has come down to a very frustrating approach by the people.The question is "How much more of price hike ?".Is it just the government who is to be blame or the circumstances are such that nothing can be done ?

DomainK Newbie

DomainK

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We seriously need to get rid of this traditions of "band". This is a sort of license for political parties to hold public life as hostage and run riots. We just need to put a ban on it with heavy punishment for parties who even tries to make a call in future.

Sir john Newbie

Sir john

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We seriously need to get rid of this traditions of "band". This is a sort of license for political parties to hold public life as hostage and run riots. We just need to put a ban on it with heavy punishment for parties who even tries to make a call in future.
:headshake::headshake::headshake::headshake:
Aaku Newbie

Aaku

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i never take any breakfast or lunch when i go to work.B-> i take food after 5 pm.
I dont work !! :whack: I was talking bout lunch with frnds.. and my donut plans :whine: :((
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