While the nation gets titillated this week by Suresh Kalmadi‘s ravenous appetite, last week by the Reddy brothers’, the previous week by Sharad Pawar‘s (and his adorable daughter Supriya Sule‘s), the week before that by Lalit Modi‘s, the fortnight before that by Madhu Koda‘s, Thiru Andimuthu Raja‘s in the one before that etc, spare a thought for how little food inflation seems to exercise the grey cells of our neta-babu log.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee managed to assuage Parliament by dipping into jargon like “adverse inflationary pressure” to explain what’s happening to prices. But if there’s one reason why the fattened calves of our demcoracy do not “get” what burgeoning food prices are doing in a nation where half the nation lives below the poverty line–836 million Indians get by with less than Rs 20 a day—it’s because they have little or no exposure to it.
The latest issue of India Today carries the menu card of the Parliament canteen, and it’s a reflection of the dream world our MPs and MLAs inhabit.
Tea: Re 1
Soup: Rs 5.50
Dal: Rs 1.50
Curd rice: Rs 11
Vegetable pulao: Rs 8
Rajma rice: Rs 7
Tomato rice: Rs 7
Fish curry: Rs 13
Chicken: Rs 24.50
Rice: Rs 2
Dosa: Rs 4
Kheer: Rs 5.50
Fruit cake: Rs 9.50
Vegetarian thali: Rs 12.50
Non-vegetarian thali: Rs 22
Chicken birnai: Rs 34
Chicken curry: Rs 20.50
Butter chicken: Rs 27
This, when the average worth of each MP is Rs 5.1 crore.
This, when the average salary of each minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet is Rs 7.5 crore.
For the record, price of rice between 2004-08 shot up by 45 per cent and the price of wheat went up by 60 per cent in the same period. Below are the 2009 rates published by Indian Express to show how much unparliamentary “food inflation” has caught up with Parliamentarians in the Parliament canteen.
Vegetarian thali: Rs 12.50
Non-vegetarian thali: Rs 22
Sada dosa: Rs 2.50
Masala dosa: Rs 4
Dal (assorted): Rs 1.50
Soup with one slice: Rs 5.50
Four chapatis: Rs 2
Boiled rice: Rs 2
Of course, on top of free food, MPs also get plenty of free phone calls, free air line tickets, free railway tickets and a little pocket money in the form of MPLADs to play around with. Plus, on the last day of Parliament they also vote themselves another hike in their meagre salaries.
Amen.
* Photograph used for illustration purposes only. The temple of democracy reserves the right to add, alter, switch items without prior notice depending on the day of the week.
>836 million Indians get by with less than Rs 20 a day
WHAT THE F***!
Where did this figure come from?? That is 83.6crore Indians earning just Rs.600/month?? That’s almost 80% of India we are talking about – Simply – Incorrect.
Last I heard there were some 30% Indian households who earned less than a $1 a day.
Oh, there i a silent factor that is also contributing to the inflation (from what I heard from a Senior police officer). He was telling me that an informal study indicates that there is high ration of counterfeits in the market. He was telling in case of Rs.500 it is about 2% of currency in circulation, and in case of Rs.1000 it is just below 1%.
Don’t know how right he is…But, if we indeed have 1+ % counterfeit money, then obviously it is too huge, and can contribute hugely to inflation…
The late G Puttaswamy Gowda of Hassan and MoS Railways K H Muniyappa told me that the King of Mysore and former MP from Mysore SDNR Wodeyar hardly paid his Parliament canteen bill!
The canteen cashier (a Kannadiga from Sakaleshapura in Hassan district) used to collect Maharaja’s bill from the late Gowda or Muniyappa.
SDNR Wodeyar was the richest MP in the Parliament! (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
OK! But do the MP’s and others who eat in this canteen pay money for their meal?
Or it is only for the record?
Our MPs treat themselves as being below poverty line….I think they are real beggars.
Where did you find the figure for the average salary of ministers in the Cabinet? Assuming 50 Rs. to 1$, this comes out to a staggering $1.5 million. I’d like to see some evidence before I believe this.
how abt booze ???, come on winter is cold in Delhi…
The picture of the thali looks inviting though I must say that many of the items in the menu seem to be rich and creamy. Could this provide a clue about why our average MP tends to be obese. Rich food that too virtually free :)
they deserve it.
I do not think, people of any other democratic country in this world will show so much apathy like our people, regarding pubic issues.
One must wonder what contributes to the apathy of the public. The majority citizens of Bangalore, which is in the international map, do not even vote! (In-spite of organizations like PAC, Janaagraha hollering day and night about the critical importance of voting in a democracy!
When will we unite, vote and question – to set right the distortions around us?
Satish:
>The canteen cashier (a Kannadiga from Sakaleshapura in Hassan district) used to collect Maharaja’s bill from the late Gowda or Muniyappa.
Such a disgrace!
Wonder why he wasn’t confronted, with some words like “raja hoga tere ghar mein”??
masala dosa Rs 4??
I had once eaten in this MPs canteen in eighties, while I was on official work at New Delhi. The thali then was priced low, around Rs 4, but so were the calories. It had only 4 items compared to the present menu and compared to the inflation the current price is dead cheap. Hope they allow the common man to eat there as they did in eighties.
This menu should motivate joining politics! What a shame!