Following his much-acclaimed theory painting a favourable picture of
inflation, Union steel minister Mr Beni Prasad Verma has released a list
of desirable but popularly-detested evils. The list includes a personal
note from the minister alongside each item detailing the basis of its
inclusion.
Predictably, rising food prices occupies the top position in the list, with the justification that it benefits the farmers. Another item that has made it to the list is corruption. The minister is of the view that contrary to popular perception, 2G and Coalgate scams have been immensely helpful as they have educated Indians about the constitutional authority called the comptroller & auditor-general of India. “If these scams did not happen would people of this country know about the existence of such an important office?” demanded Mr Verma in a note.
He has also justified crimes like rape and murder. “Crimes should increase at a healthy rate. Imagine a society without crime. What will happen to the law and order machinery? What will happen to the police force and the judiciary? Law enforcers will lose their jobs. This will result in unemployment which would then make these jobless people take to crimes. So, we must ensure that crimes grow at a healthy rate,” reads the minister’s note.
Another item that has made it to the list is ‘low GDP growth rate’. “Most people whine about slowing GDP growth. However, it is well-known that high growth is accompanied by high inflation. So, slow growth is not so bad after all. The lower the growth rate the better it is for the economy. Ideally, we must aim for a negative growth rate,” the minister writes.
“The problem of farmer suicides is being blown out of proportion by the media. A big problem among farmers is indebtedness and suicides handle this problem effectively. It has been observed that farmers who commit suicide are no longer in debt. So farmer suicides help in tackling the problem of indebtedness,” reads the note accompanying the item ‘farmer suicides’ on the list.
Another interesting note goes thus: “The recent move by railways to prevent touts from blocking Tatkal tickets is rather unfortunate. This has impacted thousands of people who were dependent on this railway ticket black market for their livelihood. Blocking of Tatkal tickets by touts is desirable and must be allowed to continue.”
The fact that India has not been at war with any nation for many years now has been listed as a cause for concern. “Our defence budget is a whopping Rs 1,93,000 crore for 2012-13. A war would give us the satisfaction that we are putting this money to good use. Also, the armed forces need to see some action. It is necessary to keep their morale high.”
The list is quite comprehensive and includes an ingenious justification for almost every single thing commonly perceived as undesirable. It is learnt that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is so impressed with Mr Verma’s perspicacity that she has instructed the Prime Minister to set up a group of ministers to ensure his vision is translated into action.
Link: http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=421508&catid=39
Predictably, rising food prices occupies the top position in the list, with the justification that it benefits the farmers. Another item that has made it to the list is corruption. The minister is of the view that contrary to popular perception, 2G and Coalgate scams have been immensely helpful as they have educated Indians about the constitutional authority called the comptroller & auditor-general of India. “If these scams did not happen would people of this country know about the existence of such an important office?” demanded Mr Verma in a note.
He has also justified crimes like rape and murder. “Crimes should increase at a healthy rate. Imagine a society without crime. What will happen to the law and order machinery? What will happen to the police force and the judiciary? Law enforcers will lose their jobs. This will result in unemployment which would then make these jobless people take to crimes. So, we must ensure that crimes grow at a healthy rate,” reads the minister’s note.
Another item that has made it to the list is ‘low GDP growth rate’. “Most people whine about slowing GDP growth. However, it is well-known that high growth is accompanied by high inflation. So, slow growth is not so bad after all. The lower the growth rate the better it is for the economy. Ideally, we must aim for a negative growth rate,” the minister writes.
“The problem of farmer suicides is being blown out of proportion by the media. A big problem among farmers is indebtedness and suicides handle this problem effectively. It has been observed that farmers who commit suicide are no longer in debt. So farmer suicides help in tackling the problem of indebtedness,” reads the note accompanying the item ‘farmer suicides’ on the list.
Another interesting note goes thus: “The recent move by railways to prevent touts from blocking Tatkal tickets is rather unfortunate. This has impacted thousands of people who were dependent on this railway ticket black market for their livelihood. Blocking of Tatkal tickets by touts is desirable and must be allowed to continue.”
The fact that India has not been at war with any nation for many years now has been listed as a cause for concern. “Our defence budget is a whopping Rs 1,93,000 crore for 2012-13. A war would give us the satisfaction that we are putting this money to good use. Also, the armed forces need to see some action. It is necessary to keep their morale high.”
The list is quite comprehensive and includes an ingenious justification for almost every single thing commonly perceived as undesirable. It is learnt that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is so impressed with Mr Verma’s perspicacity that she has instructed the Prime Minister to set up a group of ministers to ensure his vision is translated into action.
Link: http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=421508&catid=39
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