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 The austerity epidemic began with the Congress party asking External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his junior Shashi Tharoor to vacate their five-star accommodation and move to modest homes- in line with the government’s austerity drive at a time of recession and deepening drought.
What followed was a series of 'austere' moves by senior leaders such as Pranab Mukerjee and Sonia Gandhi who traveled economy class. Rahul Gandhi too shunned the luxury of a first class train ride in his attempt to play aam aadmi.
This comes from a party that boasts of 137 multi-millionaire MPs. But the real question is will such tokenism or 'conspicuous austerity' help in sending a message of solidarity to the deprived and the marginal people of India? What is the government doing to check rising food prices and to assuage the plight of farmers in drought-hit area? Also, in this era of liberalisation, what is wrong with people spending their own money to lead a better lifestyle, even if he or she is a politician? Join us for a debate on The Big Fight.
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