Uproar In India’s Parliament After Poverty Line Is Lowered To US$0.55 A Day

NEW DELHI, March 21 (Bernama) -- There were uproars in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, in protest of the Planning Commission’s move to lower the poverty line to 28 rupees (US$0.55) a day. Leader of a major opposition party in India’s Parliament, The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP), S.S. Ahluwalia, raised the issue at the Rajya Sabha. "This is the end of poverty line and beginning of starvation line," he was quoted by India Today as saying. The Planning Commission on Monday released data showing that poverty had significantly declined between 2004-05 and 2009-10. It said the poor were the ones who spend less than 28 rupee per day in urban areas and 22.50 rupees in rural areas. These figures are lower than the 32 rupees in urban areas and 26 rupee in rural areas for the year 2010-11. "Can the prime minister and finance minister manage in 32 rupee per day?” he asked. The inflation rate in India was reported to be at 8.8 per cent in February. (US$1 = 50.39 rupees) -- BERNAMA