Inflation affects affluent families too: Najma Heptullah

Shashank Verma

New Delhi: Does inflation affect affluent families too? Will food bill be able to prevent nearly one third of India’s population from remaining hungry? Important questions like these affecting the economy of the country were raised on the show, Bharat Bhagya Vidhata - `Ek Naari Aisi Bhi`. Dr Najma Heptullah, politician and vice president of BJP and Neerja Chowdhury, a veteran journalist, political commentator and columnist with DNA, were guests on the show. They shared their views on rising inflation and price rise and debated as to what can be done to control them. "Inflation affects affluent families too. For example, earlier I used to pay Rs 1000 to my servant but now he doesn`t seems to be pleased even on Rs 10,000 stipend. Inflation in our country has reached an unbearable stage. The government needs to improve their policies and take measures to check inflation", said Najma when asked by the host Divya Jaitly whether inflation has affected her in any way? On her part, Neerja said, "Inflation is a big issue. Government is not able to tackle the problem that people are facing. People will not tolerate the irresponsibility of the government anymore." "When Narasimha Rao was in power there were many reforms introduce by the Congress. Then BJP came to power and reforms continued. The BJP focused more on infrastructural development. But in the last nine years, inflation has adversely affected growth and no new reforms have been introduced by the incumbent government", said Najma when asked as to the difference in the measures pertaining to reforms introduce by the Congress and the BJP. The host of the show raised the topic of Food Security Bill and questions as to how the government would raise the capital required to feed almost one third of India’s population. In an answer to this, Neerja said, "Ninety thousand crore is the estimated monetary requirement for the food bill. It`s better to give grains to the poor than letting them rot in cold storages. Today, our country is facing tough conditions. Food bill is like a ray of hope for those below the poverty line. However, the government should have taken this step much earlier." When asked whether both the political parties have failed to meet the expectations of the people, Najma said, "We are not able to control our population. Since 1977, we have totally neglected the ever growing population. If demand and supply is increasing, then production too needs special attention. There isn`t any supply management in our country. It’s a matter of shame that despite huge availability of resources, our country is suffering from malnutrition." Offering a solution, Najma said, “It’s good that government is bringing new schemes and policies but it should implement them at the right time.” “According to me ‘political willpower’ is the solution to the problem," concluded Neerja.