IF YOU CAN'T BUY BREAD... ...EAT CAKE! THAT'S THE MESSAGE O

As the season of good cheer sets in with the advent of Christmas eve, ironically there's little or no reason, especially for the masses, to feel cheerful. Struggling to bridge the increasing chasm between his wages and cost of living, India's ubiquitous aam admi, the common man who toils hard and does not cheat the Government, will end 2010 on the sour note of unrestrained inflation. The Prime Minister doesn't tire of preening while boasting of high growth and claiming credit for India's economic 'success' that has benefited the thin upper crust of our society and corporates who have the right lobbyists to craft policy to their requirements. Here is a man who spends sleepless nights agonising over the plight of terror accused and whose heart goes out to the families of terrorists killed by our security forces. In between agonising over them and patronising those who benefit from a corrupt-to-the-core system, whatever time is left over is spent on devising new ways and means of appeasing the US and pandering to Pakistan. Understandably, the 'economist' Prime Minister India is saddled with has no time left to bother about the state of the national economy as it impacts the lives of a billion people and not as it is reflected on the ledger books of the Finance Ministry. Hence, it would be meaningless to expect him to be concerned about the further steep rise in food prices with food inflation crossing 12.13 per cent for December 11, the third successive week of increase. Nor should we expect him to worry himself about the stunning increase of food prices by 33.48 per cent this year, compared to last year's price rise. Data released on Thursday shows the prices of vegetables have risen by 15.54 per cent, fruits by 20.15 per cent, milk by 17.83 per cent and eggs, meat and fish by 19.35 per cent on an annualised basis. As always, in a knee-jerk, reflex reaction, the RBI will step in to squeeze money out of the market to forcibly hold down inflation, adding to the woes of the people who will have to pay higher interest rates on loans. This has been the prescribed remedy ever since Mr Manmohan Singh took charge of this nation's destiny in the summer of 2004. The 'rising India' of his imagination, in reality, has turned out to be a country governed by a criminally callous regime that continues to force crushing rising prices on the people while pretending to work for their welfare! So, where do we go from here? If the policies and programmes of the Congress-led UPA Government are any indication, there is unlikely to be any relief from inflation in the near, foreseeable future. On more than one occasion the Prime Minister has waved away concerns over price rise with sweeping comments to the effect that "inflation is inevitable"; if so be the case, then he owes an explanation as to why the people of the country should bear the burden of his Government's abysmal all-round failure. Such is the gross incompetence, if not collusion, of this Government that profiteers and blackmarketeers have taken over the food economy and are merrily fleecing the masses. Fuelling the galloping inflation are ill-advised and ill-motivated moves of the Government to raise resources by slyly hiking the prices of petroleum products to balance its books and cover up for rampant, corruption-facilitating wastage before presenting the Budget. Such are the joys of living under the Congress's misrule and misgovernance.