"The Austerity Drive--Is it for real????"

"Austere--Living in a strictly moral way; simple living and plain thinking".......

This is what I could make out of the dictionary meaning of the word, 'the word' that I have been reading, or listening to, even speaking since the last 3-4 days.

So, is the so called "Austerity Drive" launched by the Congress a drive which is shaping up as an epidemic or just hypocrisy which is actually very satisfying when it comes to our leaders/politicians??

One thing I fail to understand is the use of the adjective "aam aadmi" so on and so forth......I mean, how can you even compare the MP's or the MLA's with the normal people or population, a higher percentage of which is below the poverty line....that can't even afford to travel by planes or trains, leave aside the options of traveling by business class or economy class!!

" Manish Tiwari (spokesperson of the congress), quoting that their MP's are ready to travel in the cargo hold of planes makes the whole scenario even more funnier.....Please be sensible, is all I could say; when quoting related to issues like these, and stop making a mockery of yourself!!"

Then, coming to that fact that why 'only' the Congress party is so into this drive than other parties??? Is it in continuum to congress's age old policy of being connected to people or is it just another gimmick to keep their 'vote banks' intact????

But then, to what extent can u go???

The party's new rule states that all party members are to dedicate 20% of their salary for welfare of the people, cut down the electricity consumption, use less mobiles, skip lunches and dinners when attending public functions....

Iisn't this going too overboard???

"Conspicuous Austerity" will be the befitting term for the ongoing fake show....because if u can travel economy class, why can't you live in the government guest houses???? And what is the need of unnecessary cavalcade of cars, whenever you go out of the house?????? Lame excuses like 'heritage babus' don't want to restore and don’t want to change the architecture down minto road won't work here.....Also, why in the time of drought would you actually like to build ‘Shivaji national park’, which can be labeled as just another excuse for bringing out pent up self-obsession.....Where is your austere nature now????

This being just one side of it where the poorer class blames the richer class for opulent spending..... But then, why not come down a few rungs of the ladder, the judges, the lawyers....Weren't they the ones who were against making their assets public??? And even the lower middle class.....How come they don't have the money when required to pay the loans but still spend lavishly on marriages and weddings????

So, is it right to say that the public has problems with the 'netaas' spending too much, even if it is their hard earned

money???? Or should I say this for 'netaas' that "don't try to live like a maharaja when you are a public servant but then don't try to act like a fakir either" ?????

In the end, however, there is no end to this topic as I still have a question; that being austere shows the sensitivity towards equality; but, does it actually solve it?????

Kanupriya Kwatra

(excerpts from 'we, the people'; NDTV India)