GOVERNMENT MINISTERS EMBRACE THE SIMPLE LIFE

       In India, where perks and privileges are seen as the natural trappings of political power, the public is being treated to the odd sight of ministers competing to spurn extravagance or excess.With India's farmers struggling with the worst drought in 20 years and economic growth faltering in the wake of the global financial crisis, ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi has led a push to trim official wastage.
       Last month, she asked all Congress leaders to accept a 20% pay cut for a year, and last Monday she set a personal example by forgoing her normal chartered plane and flying economy class to Mumbai.
       Following in her footsteps was son and Congress heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi, who travelled by train to northern Punjab state last Tuesday, rather than chartering a helicopter.
       Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has also opted for economy travel while Foreign Minister S M Krishna, reportedly chastened by Mrs Gandhi for staying in a five-star hotel since his inclusion in the federal cabinet in May, announced last Sunday he would sacrifice his official 14-seater Embraer jet for visits abroad.
       The new-found enthusiasm for public displays of parsimony has been greeted with a healthy dose of cynicism by commentators and opposition MPs.
       Some point out that the sudden race to embrace austerity contrasts sharply with reports that senior cabinet ministers complained bitterly to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about a series of cost-cutting steps unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week.
       The measures included cuts in funds earmarked for furnishing ministers' offices and residences, publicity work, as well as seminars and workshops in luxury hotels.
       The tall and imposing minister for nonconventional energy, Farooq Abdullah, argued that economy class seats did not give him sufficient leg room, while Trade Minister Anand Sharma was reportedly unhappy about cuts in daily allowances.
       A lack of transparency in public spending has long marred the image of the government in a country where corruption is endemic and pockets of which are mired in abject poverty.
       Recent reports quoted a finance ministry statement that said the total expenditure of ministries and related departments climbed to 8.42 trillion rupees in the fiscal year 2008-09 from 6.55 trillion rupees in 2006-07.
       The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been less than impressed by the new found zest for austerity, calling it a populist gimmick ahead of state elections next month.
       "The nation is reeling under an economic crisis, and the current austerity measures look like tokenism," said senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
       The Indian Express newspaper's editorin-chief Shekhar Gupta dismissed the efforts of government ministers as "examples of hypocrisy and sycophancy", while political analyst and Sonia Gandhi's biographer Rasheed Kidwai said the austerity measures were virtually meaningless."These measures will be in place for a certain period. The question is what happens afterwards? What we need is a change in attitude towards fiscal responsibility," Kidwai said.
       The accusations of token populism were fuelled by the claims of one Congress spokesman, Manish Tewari, that party leaders would consider travelling in aircraft cargo holds if it were allowed. The unexpectedly strong mandate won by the Congress-led coalition in this year's general election was largely attributed to it's "pro-poor" manifesto and some analysts saw the austerity drive as a smart and necessary political move.
       "It's an issue of public perception. If people get a feeling that those in power are sensitive to their sufferings, they will vote them back to power," said Anupama Jha, executive director of Berlin-based Transparency International's India arm.
       "This is a country where the poor pay nine billion rupees [6.32 billion baht] annually in bribes to the government for basic and need-based services," Ms Jha said.
       But an editorial in the Indian Express mocked "the bind" Congress party leaders now find themselves in,"having to prove his or her moral worth by progressively greater feats of simplicity ... preferably when there are TV cameras about".
       The newspaper also questioned the wisdom of budget travel for a figure like Sonia Gandhi,whose mother-in-law and husband were both assassinated as prime ministers.
       "It is both dangerous and irresponsible of the Congress' leadership to expose itself to an increased threat level," it said.