Potato Politics and Commercial Airport in Rae Barielly !

Dear Rahul,

Last week you made a statement that , ‘ 50 grams of potato chip are sold for Rs. 10 , and that this is made from just half potato’ ! Correct ! But again , Rahul don’t forget that the foreign companies no lesser than Wal-Mart ( likes of Pepsico ) are selling these expensive potato chips made from half a potato . So, does it not make more sense to check the growth of MNC retail chains / companies in India, who are buying cheap potato but ‘profiteering’ by selling chips at Rs. 10 per packet and the poor farmer is losing his produce at a throw away price ?

Also, I wish to draw your attention towards the fact that currently the farmers are paid Rs. 1 per KG. I cannot understand why will ‘Profit & balance sheet obsessed’ Retail chains pay more to these poor farmers !

Simply stating that the middlemen would be removed and so farmers will get more, is a fallacious statement and conveys a lack of your ignorance about the realities. I think your party and Maya ji are fighting in the ‘aerial warfare’ with no touch of realities on the ground

I can clearly see the trick in getting the farmer leader Ajit Singh into Congress. Clearly , he will help you pitch farmers in favor of FDI and also convert a few of them as voters . But these tactics might not work in the long run , hopefully there are millions like myself who know the reality of these old tricks of congress for vote bank politics !

I read another news that Rae Bareilly will get a commercial airport

Let me enlighten you about the Awadh region where your dad , mom & yourself have fought & won elections for decades

The Awadh region once ruled by nawabs and taluqdars and known as granary of India because of its fertile Gangetic plain. The area has given prime ministers to the country – Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But most districts are still backward.

Population | 3.654 Cr

Per Capita Income | Rs 13,150.81

Faizabad division | Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, Barabanki

Devipatan division | Gonda, Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich

Kanpur division | Kanpur, Ramabai Nagar, Auraiya, Farrukkhabad, Kannauj, Etawah

Lucknow division | Lakhimpur, Lucknow, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli

Now here is an interesting fact : Purulia is better off than Rae Bareli and Amethi and this was quoted in this article of Business Standard & Mid-Day. http://www.mid-day.com/poll2009/2009/apr/270409-Purulia-is-better-than-Amethi-Left-tells-Rahul.htm

Let me walk you through a planning commission report on the per capita domestic product , and the NDP per capita in your family’s constituency.

Net domestic product (total and per capita) 2006-7 as per planning commission, Government of India

	At Current Prices		At Constant Prices 1999-2000
	Domestic Product (Total) Rs. in CR.	Per Capita Domestic Product (Rs.)	Domestic Product (Total) (Rs. in Cr.)	Per Capita Domestic Product (Rs.)
Rae Barielly	3288	10361	2489	7844
Sultanpur	3955	11168	3077	8687

Source:http://planning.up.nic.in/Annual%20Plan%202010-11%20for%20website/Volume%20-%20I%20(%20Part-II)/Chapter-6.prn.pdf

So clearly, getting an airport in Rae Barielly is a stupidity of the highest order, and that too, when it is clear that the region is back ward and people can barely survive a year without good rains leave alone travelling by air ! Please read the per capita income and check out if the poor people of that district can even afford the air port taxes leave along the airfare !

I have visited Amethi and met up with dozens of self-help groups that you have formed in Amethi, and let me tell you that, you are just ‘Using’ the emotions of these poor people for becoming a member of Lok Sabha from Amethi

While I was travelling to Amethi, none else than your own people (close associates) have informed me that the worst road in India is between Rae Bareilly and Sultanpur. Do I write more!

Learn from Mr. Vajpayee , who started the Golden Quadrilateral project for the Aam Aaadmi and your government is more interested in airports, so that you can fly directly to Amethi rather than taking the 2 hour road drive to Amethi via Lucknow . You are wasting the hard earned money of common men like myself , who earn by hard work and pay 1/3^rd of our income as taxes to the government , and people like you go and throw it for things like building an airport at Rae Barielly !

By the way i could not understand that in the same week you talked about potato being sold at Rs.1 per KG and the other side an Airport in Rae Barielly ?

Gandhi Dynasty has taken India back ward by at least 30 years , and we need to stop it soon.

I also don’t understand what is your intent for the so-called ‘Food Security Bill’ and ‘Job Guarantee Bill’. You will give fixed income to people so that they do not have to work and then you guarantee them food ? So it means that people will not have to work and earn the food , and will get it free ? Where will the Rs. 5 lac crore come from for these schemes ? Will these things take India forward or your party men who will get the ration shops to distribute ( read divert ) grains and sell them to the open market, and finally , the poor Aam Aadmi will be left stranded on the road !

Wake up Rahul ! Time will never forgive your people, and the elections will decide your fate not this ‘aerial warfare’ .

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Healthcare I Retail I Rural Economy I Public Policy

www.commonmansblog.com

New Year might have plenty of bad news for the Economy

The New year ( 2012 ) will not be a good year for India . The industrial production is falling , interest rates have gone up , corruption is on the rise , inflation is going up, rupee is going down compared to the dollar, and the investment outlook for India is negative due to wrong policies pursued by the congress government over the past several years .

It is time to change and bring a fresh look at the fundamentals of the economic policy & social disbursements

I was speaking with one of my friend from abroad , and he was of the view that USA / Europe is headed for the worst and India is no better off ! Hope it is not true !

Hoping that things will change miraculously !

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Communal Party of India – AICC – Congress

Communal Congress- History repeats

Today’s headline in The Times of India ( 6^th December 2011 ), “Centre bids to push Muslim quota ahead of polls in UP”

This news reminds me of the 80’s , when Shri Rajiv Gandhi used to meet Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid before the elections, for issuing a fatwa to Muslims to vote for Congress .

It is time that people realized the real communal party of India – AICC !

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Healthcare I Retail I Rural Economy I Public Policy

www.commonmansblog.com

2011 – Year of Democratic Innovations

Year 2011 – Year of democratic innovations

It would be appropriate to call the year 2011, the “Year of Democracy & Democratic innovations”. Year 2011 witnessed the birth of an Idea, which will either take the democracies to a new high or a new low depending how the weapon is used. This year (2011) was certainly of political innovations driven by grass-roots and Internet, and has given one lasting lesson to politicians and rulers ‘ If you have a responsibility, behave responsibly’.

Year 2011 will pass as the most happening year in the history of politics and governance. We saw how Julian Assange unmasked the United States of America using the power of net, and how the Arab Awakening started on the net and the decades old regimes fell, and How Anna Hazare used the power of media to force the government to accept its demands & commit to change. It is no ordinary feat using the ordinary and every day use mediums to bring about a lasting change. We saw many changes without large-scale wars and bloodshed. It is unbelievable, but it happened, and not just in India but across the World!

Back home, this year, we have seen how the fierce standoff between the Government and the ‘Social activists’ / ‘Civil Society Organizations’ moved the ‘Policy Paralysis’ to ‘Parliamentary paralysis’. For sure, It is clear that innovations are not just limited to science labs and companies, but even the small and big democracies are innovating and finding ways to be heard using the power of low-cost mediums and issues that affect the ‘Common Man’. The ‘autocratic democracies’ have to learn to accept and function in accordance with the wishes of the people whom they are meant to serve

I have always believed that ‘Politicians’ once they acquire the ‘Power’ forget the basic philosophy of governance that ‘ Powers flows through them, and not from them’ and that, they are supposed to be ‘serving’ the people & not ‘Governing them’, using the power to transform lives rather than using their position for ‘I, ME & MYSELF’

So what is in store for politicians and the civil society now?

It is clear that the public has a new weapon of mass destruction – Dissidence with Disobedience till things fall in place!

We have seen that the Indian Parliament did not function during the monsoon session due to various issues relating to scams and corruption, and now that FDI in retail has become a contentious issue and has brought the government to a halt within the parliament. The UPA government, which was earlier being haunted with ‘Policy Paralysis’, has now turned to ‘Parliamentary Paralysis’ for the nation. It is both good and bad for a democracy. As long as this ‘Tool’ is used for right reasons for the well-being of the masses, it will bring about positive change, and when it becomes a ‘Tool’ to pacify the ‘Ego’ of the opposition parties, this could be the worst weapon to bring down the democratic ethos of any nation. Since FDI, 2 G scam and Lok Pal bills have vast negative ramifications, and so the opposition and the ruling party will get ‘the benefit of doubt’ on this modus operandi, but if the opposition uses the same tool for each and every flimsy issue, then the public will directly answer during the elections. It is clearly being felt that, the public is getting enlightened, and watching the debate and taking a stand and backing it with ‘viral marketing’. We will see the results much before 2014 and the Grand Finale in 2014. It is time that those who have responsibility, must act responsibly to take this nation forward. It goes without saying ‘ You can fool some people all the time, all people some time but not all people all the time’.

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Healthcare I Retail I Rural Economy I Public Policy

www.commonmansblog.com

BJP’s stand on FDI in retail – A pragmatic approach with change in market dynamics !

Why did BJP change the stand on in 2009 elections for FDI?

I was a part of the three-member team that authored the Election Manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections of BJP under the Chairmanship of Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi, and I wrote the first draft of the critical policy document for BJP, after discussions with various stakeholders for the Indian Economy from across the world. I personally made over 100’s of phone calls to people who had submitted their recommendations to BJP for the Lok Sabha elections manifesto, and people would have seen that BJP was the only party that not only incorporated the ‘Aam Aadmi’s aspirations, but have also struck to its commitment without any compromise.

I am reproducing the exact wordings for the Retail Trade as mentioned in the election manifesto of 2009 on page 23,

‘BJP understands the critical importance of retail trade in the context of employment and services provided by them, and thus favors a dominant role for the unincorporated sector in retail trade. Towards this end, it will not allow foreign direct investment in retail sector. After agriculture, the retail sector is the largest employer of nearly four crore people.

We will:

Adopt all necessary measures to safeguard the interest of small and tiny retail vendors
Ensure availability of working capital needs for such vendors through credit at not more than four percent interest
Study the feasibility of slab-based ‘Compound Tax’ for traders to free them from needless harassment and end corruption
Set up an empowered committee to recommend welfare measures, including pension scheme, for small traders

Today’s Economic Times carries an interview of Shri Yashwant Sinha ji and there is a question ‘The Government leadership, particularly the commerce minister, has said that BJP has shifted its policy on FDI in retail. And that the BJP is being opportunistic..

This is totally wrong question or statement from who-so-ever made it

I wish to highlight a few facts that were there in 2002, and in 2008, the global order had changed. Please note the following

In 2002, the scene was different, when it came to global economies and India; USA was not taking about ‘protectionism’ but selling ‘globalization’.
Full impact of globalization was clearly seen in the recession of 2008, and USA and Europe have clearly ‘tilted’ towards ‘Protectionist’ economic policies
Retail trade was just starting up to organize in India in 2002, and by 2008, most of the Indian retailers even had to re-organize due to heavy losses

So, clearly, as the only national party with interest of the ‘Common Man’ at heart, BJP took a cautious call to help its small Kirana stores, than bringing 1000’s of foreign super markets to India at the cost of 12 million retailers! So the 2009 policy decision was the right decision for the nation and its ‘Common Man’, and those who say that BJP changed its stand, have forgotten the rule of ‘market dynamics’ and failed to keep their eyes open to the happenings across the world in the past seven years. A lot has changed in the first 10 years of this century, and a lot more will change in the next 10 years. It is imperative that we keep our heads low and overheads lower! BJP is the only party that can take this nation forward. Congress with all its USA / UK educated politicians can continue to sing the voice of their ‘Real Masters’ and take the economy to drain.

BJP’s stand on FDI in retail is a pragmatic approach with change in market dynamics, and has no politics attached to it , whereas, the Congress is pushing FDI in retail for its failure to check corruption and control inflation, and keep away the Lok Pal bill from the parliament – That is the politics of Congress !

May the good sense prevail in the Congress and it’s so-called leadership!

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Healthcare I Retail I Rural Economy I Public Policy