Bandhs and Bandobusts
Today there was a call for Bharat Bandh, a call given by the main opposition parties and supported by fuse friendly opposition parties. The bandh was to protest for the increase in Petro prices or rather phased de-regulation of petroleum product prices. There is a lot of mechanism going on in organising these bandhs and making them successful. At the end of the day, there would be claims and counter-claims about the bandh being successful and not so. But what is the impact of these bandhs on the so called aam aadmi like you and me!
Deregulation of Petroleum prices is good economics and bad politics. In the global economy how can you run the show with Administrative Pricing mechanism. So today or tomorrow it was to happen. The rueing is how the decontrol or deregulation would do in India. What if the Oil Marketing Companies form cartel(as if they are not doing so now!) and manipulate the prices when they sit for chai pani every fortnight when they revisit the prices? Is there a foolproof mechanism being worked out to ensure that such a thing doesn't happen? Why the left, right and centrist parties do not think of these issues and just goes vocal on the price rise? It is anybody's guess! Political parties need to survive and what best they can choose other than play on emotionally appealing issues. Even this logic seems only partially correct. Are people of this country voluntarily supporting these bandhs! No way. Why can't these parties demand for a fool-proof price monitoring mechanism, wherein, as and when the crude oil prices come down, the petroleum prices too could come down in proportion. Do not expect Murali Deora's to ensure this to happen. He is more worried about the losses posted by the P & L statements of the OMCs.
Bandhs are pretty useful for those people who could sell things at exhorbitant rates, risk or no risk, with the connivance of the local party goons. Who is worried about the hardships that aam admi faces during these bandhs and hartals? We are silent moaners cribbing about everything that is not in place but hardly do we do anything to set them right. But then the aam admi is never represented at any forum by any of these elected or nominated people's representatives.
The cost of every item is going and our ministers, both Central and State are eulogising the justification of skyrocketing of prices, ranging from talking about the affordability of the aam admi and compensating for the losses incurred by the producers. Let us hope some sense prevail in parties before calling these bandhs and making bandobusts and disrupting the public life for showing their presence. What if the bandh is a grand success! Will the government reduce the prices that are going only in one direction-upwards; petroleum, groceries or vegetables, whatever. Sanity should prevail among the political fraternity to fight on the right issues in the right and earnest ways.
Deregulation of Petroleum prices is good economics and bad politics. In the global economy how can you run the show with Administrative Pricing mechanism. So today or tomorrow it was to happen. The rueing is how the decontrol or deregulation would do in India. What if the Oil Marketing Companies form cartel(as if they are not doing so now!) and manipulate the prices when they sit for chai pani every fortnight when they revisit the prices? Is there a foolproof mechanism being worked out to ensure that such a thing doesn't happen? Why the left, right and centrist parties do not think of these issues and just goes vocal on the price rise? It is anybody's guess! Political parties need to survive and what best they can choose other than play on emotionally appealing issues. Even this logic seems only partially correct. Are people of this country voluntarily supporting these bandhs! No way. Why can't these parties demand for a fool-proof price monitoring mechanism, wherein, as and when the crude oil prices come down, the petroleum prices too could come down in proportion. Do not expect Murali Deora's to ensure this to happen. He is more worried about the losses posted by the P & L statements of the OMCs.
Bandhs are pretty useful for those people who could sell things at exhorbitant rates, risk or no risk, with the connivance of the local party goons. Who is worried about the hardships that aam admi faces during these bandhs and hartals? We are silent moaners cribbing about everything that is not in place but hardly do we do anything to set them right. But then the aam admi is never represented at any forum by any of these elected or nominated people's representatives.
The cost of every item is going and our ministers, both Central and State are eulogising the justification of skyrocketing of prices, ranging from talking about the affordability of the aam admi and compensating for the losses incurred by the producers. Let us hope some sense prevail in parties before calling these bandhs and making bandobusts and disrupting the public life for showing their presence. What if the bandh is a grand success! Will the government reduce the prices that are going only in one direction-upwards; petroleum, groceries or vegetables, whatever. Sanity should prevail among the political fraternity to fight on the right issues in the right and earnest ways.
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