The worst victim of the government policy do away with the public distribution system are the millions of the rural and urban poor who do not have the purchasing power to buy an adequate amount of food in the open market. By the budget proposals, the price of wheat for families below the poverty line would go up from Rs. 2.50 per kg to Rs. 4.20 per kg. For rice, the increase is from Rs. 3.50 to Rs. 5.85 per kg. For the people who are in the so-called above poverty line category, the increase is equally steep. The new principle adopted is that foodgrains would be supplied in this category within "full economic cost" which makes the issue of rice and wheat more expensive than what is prevailing in the open market. The whole effort is to see that a big section of the people are excluded from the public distribution system totally. This is what is meant by targetting the public distribution system to ensure that only the poor get its benefits.

The most shocking and callous attitude of the Vajpayee government was seen when a second increase in the issue prices was announced a few weeks after the budget was presented. Despite the widespread opposition to the budget proposals, even from the NDA partners of the BJP, the government proceeded to announce a further increase of 30 paise per kg of wheat for the people below poverty line category and 60 paise for those in the above poverty line category. In the case of rice, the increase is 5 paise and 10 paise per kg respectively.

The Vajpayee government has declared war on the country's poor people by such savage hikes in the prices of foodgrains.

 The fraud being perpetrated in the name of targetting the public distribution system towards the poorest sections has led to a large number of the poorest sections being left out of the below poverty line category. The definition of the people below poverty line has been fixed in many state government in such a way as to exclude the poor from outside the purview of the public distribution system altogether. Further by various methods of manipulation, cards are not provided for those identified as below the poverty line. As noted in the columns of the People's Democracy earlier, in Dharawi, the biggest slum in Mumbai, out of a population of 5 lakhs, only 151 families have been given BPL cards.

A big section of the people who used to avail of the ration system to buy sugar have now being excluded from its purview. The budget has announced that the people who pay income tax will not be entitled to buy sugar from the public distribution system. Further, the price of sugar has been increased by one rupee per kg.

The cost of urea has been increased by 15 per cent and the prices of other fertilisers have also been increased from 7 to 15 per cent which will affect the poorer sections of the farmers the most and increase the cost of production of agriculture.

Before the budget proposals, the government had announced its intention to increase the prices of kerosene and cooking gas. However, due to the plea of Telugu Desam, which was facing municipal elections in Andhra Pradesh, the decision was postponed. Now that the elections are over, the union government has announced the doubling of the prices of kerosene sold through the public distribution system from Rs. 2 to Rs.4.50. There has been a 30 per cent increase in the price of a cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas. Now a cylinder in Delhi will cost Rs. 196.35 instead of the earlier Rs. 152. The price increase were varies from 45 to 50 in different cities.

When Parliament resumes on April 17, the cut in food and fertiliser subsidy will have to be approved when the finance bill is taken up for adoption. The attack on the public distribution cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. In a country where 40 per cent of the people are below the poverty line and 50 per cent are mal nourished, it is the duty of the State to provide food at reasonable price to the people. The overall price increase fuelled by the budget imposes a crushing burden on the people, who are already suffering from low wages, malnutrition and unemployment. The call given by the CPI(M) to observe April 17 as a `protest day' against the price increases should be vigorously observed, so that all sections of the people are mobilised to force the government to roll back this price increases.

For Below Poverty Line category

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Pre-budget Budget proposal Post-budget Total

Price per kg per kg price (29 March) increase

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Wheat Rs. 2.50 Rs. 4.20 Rs. 4.50 Rs. 2.00

Rice Rs. 3.50 Rs. 5.85 Rs. 5.90 Rs. 2.40

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For Above Poverty Line category

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Wheat Rs. 6.82 Rs. 8.40 Rs. 9.00 Rs. 2.18

Rice Rs. 9.05 Rs. 11.70 Rs. 11.80 Rs. 2.75

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Kerosene -- Rs. 2.00 to Rs. 4.50 (retail price in Delhi 5.46)

Cooking gas -- Official increase Rs. 30 (retail increase in Delhi Rs. 45)