The FCI godowns are overflowing with stocks of foodgrains because the continuous increase in the prices of foodgrains has reduced the off-take through the public distribution system. It is in such a situation that the BJP-led government proposes to further hike the issue price of wheat and rice, not by a little, but by a whopping 68 per cent for those below the poverty line. So instead of paying Rs. 3.50 per kilo for rice, under the rationing system, Rs. 2.50 per kilo for wheat, all the poor have to pay now is Rs. 5.85 for rice and Rs. 4.20 for wheat. This cruel step is being taken on the dubious ground that the food subsidy has to be reduced at all costs. Already the definition of people below the poverty line has been kept so ridiculously low that millions of poor people are now categorised as above the poverty line. For instance a person who earns Rs. 2000 per month is now considered non-poor. For such people the price of wheat and rice has been increased even more than the prevailing market prices. This is nothing but dismantling the public distribution system for a vast section of the people who require cheap food for nutrition and to stave off malnutrition.

This will severely hit those states which made some serious effort to reach the public distribution system to the people. Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and West Bengal will be among the worst victims. Kerala in particular, which has the best public distribution system will have to bear an extra burden of Rs. 240 crores if it wants to maintain the existing prices of rice supplied through the rationing system. Andhra Pradesh will have to bear a burden of Rs. 400 crore. In both these states since the number of people categorised as "below the poverty line" is not very high, the entire public distribution system will come under severe strain.

Yashwant Sinha has also announced that the prices of sugar will go up by Rs. 1 per kg from Rs. 12 to Rs. 13 and all those paying income tax will be excluded from its purview.

The non-BJP partners of the NDA have come out against the increase in the PDS prices. They have submitted a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding rescinding of this step. The West Bengal Chief Minister has condemned this measure. The Kerala Assembly has adopted a unanimous resolution protesting against this step. The BJP and its finance minister are oblivious of the suffering which this will inflict on the ordinary people.

The eagerness with which the BJP-led government is moving to dismantle the public distribution system at the behest of the IMF-World Bank is the most glaring illustration of the inhuman face of liberalisation. In a country which has a record number of poor and malnourished people, the PDS policy of the BJP is nothing but scandalous.

If the government refuses to withdraw these proposals then all the parties who have protested against this hike must unitedly defeat this measure in parliament through a cut motion.

Clinton Visit : Servile Behaviour

The servile mentality of the ruling classes in India towards the world's biggest superpower, the United States, is best exemplified by the measures being taken to make the Clinton visit successful. In the capital, roads are being repaired with great haste and various attempts are being made to beautify the city. The BJP which prides itself as a nationalistic party is displaying symptoms of neo-colonial behaviour. What the government refuses to do for its citizens in a routine manner is now being undertaken on a war-footing for a foreign visitor from whom it is expected dollars will generously flow. The spectacle which is unfolding in the cities where Clinton is scheduled to visit is both humiliating and nauseating.

In Hyderabad, beggers have been rounded up, over 2000 of them, so that they do not disfigure the city landscape when Clinton arrives for a few hours. Hundreds of stray dogs have been shot dead and goats and monkeys have been impounded.

In Agra, the city is being cleared of vendors and the residents are being subjected to body searches on the roads. In Jaipur, the Rajasthan High Court had to stay the government's move to forcibly evict shopkeepers from the verandahs of the city. If these governments had their way, they would have liked to remove all the natives out of town so that they do not pollute the atmosphere when Clinton arrives for a few hours in each of these cities.