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Those who ignore the hungry are traitors

dna reader Bidyut Chatterjee recalls Swami Vivekananda's words in the context of the food security bill.

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During the discussion in Parliament on the food security bill, former human resources development minister and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi labelled the legislation as “a vote security bill” for the Congress party. He could be right to an extent. However, it is relevant to remember the statement by Swami Vivekananda on this issue, particularly since the BJP and some of its leaders choose to refer to this great thinker only when it suits them.

Vivekananda had said: “So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them! I call those men who strut about in their finery, having got all their money by grinding the poor, wretches, so long as they do not do anything for those …

who are now no better than hungry savages!”  I agree, that like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the food security bill too will help the UPA government in the forthcoming general elections. And it is because of this that the BJP put obstacles in the way of passing the law. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in a rare intervention during the debate in Parliament, appealed to the members to support the plan as it is meant for the less fortunate sections and described the the food bill as a big step to eradicate hunger. Unfortunately, she fell ill and was taken to hospital before the vote on the bill. While many will continue to criticise the scheme, I think opposing it would be letting down the hungry and helpless people by denying them the right to a dignified existence.
(The writer lives in Faridabad.)

Advantage Congress
The food security bill will somehow see the light of day on account of the compulsions of the Congress party in an election year. Now the party can make Sonia Gandhi into a goddess of the poor as though she alone is responsible for the scheme. As a matter of fact, in some states (like Tamil Nadu) this scheme will not have much relevance as the public distribution system has worked well.

Mulayam Singh was right in pointing out that implementation of the scheme would put a financial burden on the state governments. Only Congress-ruled states like Karnataka, which has started this facility only now, may benefit somewhat, the financial burden would be reduced to some extent and the state unit of the Congress could extract political mileage from the party’s initiative at the Centre. While the concept is good, the hurry in passing the legislation could leave loopholes that may not yield the desired benefits to the people for whom it is intended.
— VS Ganeshan, Bangalore

Tackling hunger as well as rising rate of crime
We want to express our gratitude to our Parliamentarians for passing the food security bill. This will help us work towards fulfilling the dream of Mahatma Gandhi that not a single person should sleep on an empty stomach. We are apolitical, but admire Sonia Gandhi for initiating this big step to provide succour for the hungry millions. We believe that this would also mitigate the crime rate.

Whatever the political system, providing food at a reasonable price is the bounden duty of society. The government could launch a kind of relief fund in which we all can contribute to help meet the cost of the scheme and reducing the deficit. The rich who contribute towards financing the scheme could be allowed some tax relief. At the same time it is necessary that the government plugs the leaks in the public distribution system. The Congress may have pushed through the scheme with an eye on the general elections, but the relief it will bring to the hungry millions is more important. 
— Indira Raghavan, Murli Chari, Pune

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