IANS
New Delhi, Sep 15: As Congress leaders try to outdo each other in taking austerity measures, other political parties have dubbed the drive "mere tokenism" and "drama" which they say aims to divert attention from the serious problems plaguing the country.
"What is more important is real work on the ground to address the suffering of the common man. Tokenism bereft of real work on ground becomes patent hypocrisy and laughable," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told IANS.
"Recently prime minister (Manmohan Singh) wrote to Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi conveying his unhappiness over his performance," said the BJP leader. "So the performance has to go beyond tokenism."
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP Basudeb Acharya also called it tokenism in the time of rising prices and farmer suicides.
"Farmers are still committing suicide. Prices of essential commodities are spiralling. If they have any concern, they should universalise the public distribution system and announce relief packages for farmers.
"It is merely tokenism. They have no concern for the problems of people. I demand a special parliament session to discuss the crisis country is facing," Acharya said.
The Congress leaders' austerity drive began with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asking two union ministers, S.M. Krishna and Shashi Tharoor, to vacate their suites in five-star hotels.
Mukherjee had said it on the instructions of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who has asked all party MPs and legislators to contribute 20 percent of their salaries for drought relief and adopt a simple lifestyle to sympathise with the "less fortunate".
Since then, Pranab Mukherjee and Sonia Gandhi have both flown economy class. Now Sonia Gandhi's son and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has taken a train from Delhi to Ludhiana to cut down expenses.
However, opposition leaders are not impressed.
"It is a totally pre-planned drama. The economy cannot be revived by merely travelling in economy class once or twice. Instead, they should try to curb corruption rampant in the government," said Samajwadi Party MP Kamal Akhtar.
"It is hypocrisy and mere tokenism. It is unfortunate the government and the party are trying to divert attention from real issues. It does not matter whether you travel by economy class, cargo or bullock cart. People want performance," the BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Many commoners too hope the Congress top brass will do more.
"I know they are trying to set an example. But their efforts should go beyond such gestures. Rahul Gandhi's train ride would not help people who are feeling the pinch of price-rise," said software executive Krishan Kumar.
Shweta Kalra, a student, said: "These political leaders travelling economy class or by train would create more hassles for the common man. People with VIP security would definitely book rows of seats, and their security will create difficulties for people commuting with them."
Unfazed, the Congress is pressing ahead with the austerity drive and says its leaders will set an example.
"In tough times, such measures by the Congress leadership will set an example for others and youngsters to lead a simple and austere life," said Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed.
"If there is time... (we have) no problem travelling by train," he added. Even Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi used to travel a lot by train."