The austerity drive in the Congress at the Centre has percolated to state units. The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has issued a circular asking its 181 elected members to opt for 20 per cent cut in their salaries for the next one year beginning this month.

“This is a gesture to create awareness among people about importance of austerity,” said GPCC president Siddharth Patel, while adding that consent letters from elected members in the state would be forwarded to their respective organisations in less than a week.

When his attention was drawn to criticism that the drive was just a cosmetic measure, he said it was small gesture meant to inspire others. A gesture cannot necessarily be a big one to inspire others to adopt austerity, he said.

Patel said the move further aims to invite the ruling BJP in the state to follow a similar drive for its elected members on a bigger scale. “If we in the Opposition can do this, those sitting in the ruling party can do much more and prevent a lot of unnecessary expenditure,” he said.

The Congress leadership maintains that criticism apart, the drive will help people understand and gauge the seriousness of drought conditions in the country. They said this drive might be taken beyond elected members down to party leaders and workers who may be asked to volunteer monetary donations.

The BJP, however, insists it is just a gimmick to divert people’s attention from real issues of price rise and famine in half the country. “Instead of taking any concrete steps to control the price rise and tackle famine, they are resorting to dramas like austerity drive. The result of elections in Gujarat showed the people’s mood, (and) the same will be repeated in Maharashtra,” said Vijay Rupani, state BJP general secretary.

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