Congress leaders Raj Babbar and Rashid Masood have provoked the anger and aversion of the middle class and the poor alike, by claiming they can have a hearty meal in Delhi for Rs 5 and in Mumbai for Rs 12. To add salt to the wounds of millions of people living below the poverty line, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah asserted one can eat a whole meal in just Rs one!
These farcical claims of the Congress leaders invited strong reactions on the streets and in the cyber world as disgusted peopled were quick to point out that even the humble potato sells at Rs 25 a kg and onion and tomato are priced as high as Rs 50 and Rs 90 per kg, respectively. The BJP also slammed the Congress for making a mockery of the woes of the common man, who is already suffering under the burden of price rise.
“People should have full meals twice a day. How one can have it is a very good question that you have asked. Even today in Mumbai city, I can have a full meal at Rs 2. No, no, not vada paav. Rice and dal sambhar, which has some vegetables mixed in it also,” Babbar told reporters. Babbar was answering questions at the AICC briefing on the controversial figure released by the Planning Commission, which claimed that the level of poverty has sharply declined across the country.
The Plan panel has categorised only those blow poverty level, whose daily earning is less than Rs 28 or Rs 32 per day in urban and rural areas respectively. It also said that the percentage of Indians living below the poverty line has fallen to 22 per cent from 2005 to 2012. The Opposition and even UPA ally NCP have dismissed the figures as flawed.
When the sharp spurt in prices of vegetables, especially tomatoes was pointed out, Babbar said: “If we assess poverty by tomatoes, then it will be difficult. You may not have tomatoes in cities but the poor people living in villages will pluck tomatoes from the fields and eat. Tell me whether they are rich or poor.” Babar also claimed that while prices have risen, per capita expenditure has also gone up. “More than the ratio of price rise, our expenditure has risen,” he said.
Then came the turn of veteran Congress leader and former lok Sabha MP Rasheed Masood, who said Rs 5 in Delhi is sufficient to buy a whole meal. “You can get a meal in Delhi for Rs 5. I don’t know about Mumbai, you can get a meal for Rs 5 near Jama Masjid,” Masood said.
When asked if he can eat the same meal, Masood said that he spends less than Rs 5 on a meal because of his ill-health. However, it was Farooq Abdullah who took the cake by claiming that one can have a meal in the range of Rs 1 to Rs 5. Slamming the statements of the Congress leaders, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said: “You cannot have food for this amount in my constituency Varanasi. Even then, any Congress leaders wanting to eat a meal for Rs 5 in Delhi can approach me for this sum. “We will give Rs 12 to the Congress leaders and let them show us how they can have one meal with it. Hope it is not e-foodIJ”