...let them eat cakes and biscuits!

As the inflation in India spirals up to 7%, and the prices of the essential commodities, specially cereals and pulses, have shot up, here are two very creative explanantions by two ministers.

According to Sharad Pawar, the President of BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India) and also, btw, the Agriculture Minister, "The dietary habits are changing. Demand is also going up."

If one goes by his understanding, the changing food habits of Indians in south and north-east are the culprits. The inhabitants of these states, who were earlier consuming rice, have now started eating chaptis!!!

No, he did not explain why the price of rice is also spiralling up.

The other explanation comes from the Commerce Minister Kamal Nath. While participating the gala show - Incredible India@60 in Singapore (April 4-7, 2008), he explained that increased prices of the food are due to increased food consumption by the poor people. "We have great supply-side challenges in India at the moment with 15 million people moving from having one meal a day to two meals a day."

??!!!

Maybe, like many others in this country, they also live in another time, another place... where every poor Indian lives on cakes and biscuits!