Thiruvananthapuram: CPI-M on Thursday said the Planning
Commission assessment of pegging poverty line of an individual
at Rs 25 per day in rural areas and Rs 36 per day in urban
areas is non-transparent and fraudulent method "manipulated to
suit interests of UPA government`s new neo-liberal policies."
"The Planning Commission`s assessment is a non-transparent
and fraudulent method in which poverty lines were manipulated
to suit the interests of new liberal policies of the UPA
government," CPI-M Politburo member Brinda Karat told
reporters here today.
She alleged that the scientific assessment of the poor by
the Commission was a flaw and that it had been done with a
motive to cut down share of the poor in national resources.
Stating it was a shame on he country to say one who earns Rs
25 per day would not be eligible for government subsidy, she
demanded that the Commission`s assessment of poverty be
delinked from government schemes for poverty alleviation.
On the proposed Food Security Bill, she said it was
disappointing in the present form. States would have to adhere
to the Commission`s estimates in poverty determination and it
would adversely affect the Public Distribution System
functioning well in 10 states, she said.
On Aadhaar, Karat said CPI(M) was disturbed over the
process of Unique Identification Cards being started even
before the relevant bill on the matter was taken up for
discussion in Parliament.
"Even before Parliament has had an opportunity to discuss
it, the government seems to have already started the whole
process," she said.
She said issues on bio-metric identification, privacy,
and commercialisation of all process were some of the
questions to be answered with regard to Aadhaar.
On petrol price hike, she demanded that the Centre
regulate prices through an administrative price mechanism.
PTI
