After some serious chest thumping by Mr. Gandhi, threatening to burst the Prime Minister's balloon, by exposing him in the Parliament with charges of corruption so great, that it would cause a quake within the, the former paid the latter a visit along with his entourage to discuss the plight of farmers in UP and Punjab.
The poor farmer, always in debt, first killed himself because of crop failure due to water drought, then floods, and now because of a drought of cash. The poor farmer has been killing himself for years, even under the previous government controlled by the Gandhi family. So the awakening of consciousness for the farmer's plight does seem dubious. There were quite a few earthquakes around the world in those days when Mr. Gandhi opened his mouth, but none in the Indian Parliament.
The PM's party-men egged Mr. Gandhi to spill the beans outside of Parliament because any allegation made in the sacred well is privileged and not eligible for any form of prosecution even if otherwise libelous in nature. That very evening, when the two met though, an announcement made its way that Political Parties big and small not to be questioned about the funds garnered, or the source, from the day the demonetization of the old high value notes went into effect. Well who can then stop the tongue of the common man quacking? Did the meeting have anything to do with this announcement? If yes, had Mr. Gandhi Jr. shaken the PM in to it? Was there some other deal struck on elections in UP and Punjab concerning farming of votes in exchange of certain concesiions? Then was all of Mr. Gandhi's noise directed at getting an audience? It did happen on the shoulder of a grand opposition alliance. If not, then why did the PM say "Should always meet like this" to Mr. Gandhi and team?
Questions for which there are no real answers, and answers that by now, this nation does not really care for. It is quite evident that the war on a demon called corruption has given rise to a bigger and better form of corruption, thanks to those agencies and systems that were supposed to fight it.
Bank officials including those of the Reserve bank have assisted the exchange of money in quantum that far exceeds permissible limits. Street has it that most politicians and political parties, active or dormant went straight to the doors of the RBI to get the old notes changed. While people waited in queues to get some or no money from banks and ATMs due to shortage of currency and restrictions, politicians were transporting money in millions for friends. For a change, black cash collectors were handing ill gotten money to the very source that gave them it in the first place - for a clean up at a cost.
More gold was imported in India in the month of November than any other month of 2016, knowing well that most of the hidden wealth would want to change its colour from black to gold. However, with the announcement of to 50:50 scheme, the price of gold corrected from a high of Rs. 60,000 per 10gms some time back in cash deals to Rs. 28,000. Not only that, where old discontinued notes were being traded at a discount, now old notes are fetching a premium. There is news that the shortage of cash has forced smaller town traders to continue accepting the old stuff as legal tender. Not everyone is happy going cashless.
Real Estate never had it so good. Sales picked up and even shit was selling at a premium. Well advised, a lot of realtors declared tons of undeclared income in the IDS of September, collected tons of cash at a premium in November, and will happily paid the taxes in December. With a lot of unsold inventory gone, the promise of the much awaited price correction has become as true as the promise of a "Swacch Bharat" - free of pollution and corruption.
It's back to business as usual for this Country - if you want anything done, be ready to hear "Show me the money, and black is beautiful, as long as you paint it white please."
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