JOIN USThe Planning Commission’s latest poverty estimation has triggered a controversy exposing divisions within the ruling UPA as its partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has lashed out at the new figures which show steep reduction in the number of the poor in the country.
A day after the Plan panel’s data showed that the number of people living below the poverty line (BPL) has shrunk to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption, several parties, including the NCP, debunked the figures.
Union minister and senior NCP leader Praful Patel led the attack on the estimate. “The figures are based on totally wrong benchmark of per capita daily expenditure of Rs 33.33 for cities and Rs 27.20 for villages,” he said.
Patel told mediapersons: “The Commission should set a new ceiling keeping in mind inflation and high cost of living. We do not agree with this data.”
Though Patel admitted that there has been progress in the country, he described the Planning Commission’s ceiling as incorrect. He demanded a new ceiling to determine poverty, keeping in view the present cost of living in the country.
Even as the Congress tried to defend the estimates, the BJP alleged that the Centre was conspiring against the poor to deprive them of the benefits available for the BPL families. BJP’s Praksah Javdekar said, “the latest report showing reduction in the number of people below poverty line does not reflect the price rise and is just a political gimmick.”
The BJP leader reminded that the Arjun Sengupta Committee had said 70 per cent of the people in the country live below the poverty line. He also asked why the Plan panel hasted to make public the new figures when the Rangarajan Committee, under the watch of the Supreme Court, was looking into the issue of poverty.
The Congress defended the estimates and tried to take the credit of reducing poverty in the country. It claimed that the pro-poor policies of the government have made it happen. “This happened due to pro-poor policies of the government,” Congress spokesman Raj Babbar said. In numerical terms, the number of poor came down from 40 crore in the period before 2003-04 to 26 crore in 2011-12, he added.
Replying to a query, Babbar said the food security ordinance was not for poverty reduction but aimed at providing nutritious food to the beneficiaries constituting 67 per cent of the 1.2 billion population.
CPM leader Brinda Karat said the figures are “dubious” and “discredited” and amounts to “adding salt to the wounds of the poor”.