AIDWA protestors enter Planning Commission building
-
05/03/2008
-
Indian Express (New Delhi)
A few women protestors, who were demonstrating against the methodology used by the Government for identifying Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, barged into the Planning Commission building here on Tuesday. The protestors, who belong to All India Democratic Women's Association, managed to enter the premises of Yojna Bhawan and shout slogans. Led by CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat, they questioned the methodology for poverty assessment and the related policy of identification of families below BPL. "There are many discrepancies in the method used for estimating poverty. The Planning Commission has dubious intentions in excluding large number of people from the BPL list and women are the most affected due to this,' said Karat. She alleged that the present policy of "targeting' excludes a large number of families from the benefits of subsidised food, health and education services, pension schemes, housing and a vast number of government programmes. Countering the assessment that only 22 per cent families are BPL, Karat alleged that these figures were fraudulent and based on a calorie-based poverty line that was fixed in 1979.