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NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, Congress psokesman Raj Babbar said one can have a full meal for Rs 12 in Mumbai. On Thursday, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Rasheed Masood went a step further, claiming, “You can eat well for Rs 5 in the Jama Masjid area of Delhi”.Since Masood had specifically mentioned Jama Masjid, TOI decided to do a reality check. We visited the area, and asked residents and owners of food outlets if his statement was correct.“The MP still seems to be living in a bygone era. Maybe he should visit the area again,” scoffed a local tea stall owner who has been living in the area for the past four decades. “In the late 1980s, one could have still expected to have a meal for Rs 5 when the roti used to cost less than a rupee and gravy dishes could be had for Rs 2,” he said, requesting anonymity.The minimum price of a roti now is Rs 3 even at the most basic of food outlets. A gravy dish costs a minimum of Rs 20.The only affordable meal (if it can be termed as such) was a small portion of rice and modest sprinkling of daal (pulses), but that too costs about Rs 15.A 'decent' meal — consisting of a non-vegetarian gravy and two rotis — at the cheapest eatery will cost not less than Rs 20-25. If you want to add a phirni (sweet dish), it will set you back another Rs 10. That doesn't really square with Masood's numbers.Even a small pouch of water costs Rs 2. If you plan to sip tea at a stall, it will cost at least Rs 7. Don't have money for food and want to make do with juice? A glass of juice will cost no less than Rs 10.The only hope for a person who has to live on Rs 5 per meal is the alms being distributed on account of the holy month of Ramzaan. As part of charity during this period, many people have been buying meals costing Rs 20-25 to be distributed free of cost to the poor.But when we asked whether we could feed the poor for Rs 5, the restaurant attendant mocked us and said, “Since it's Ramzaan and people give out their annual zakaat (charity), one can also eat for free.”And here's something for Masood to chew on. We tried to hand over Rs 5 to a beggar standing outside the eatery. But she refused to accept it, saying it would not help her get any food. “I will not get anything for this. If you really want to help me, you have to give me at least Rs 20 so that I can buy something to eat,” she said.It might be unfair to demand from political leaders or governments that they eliminate poverty overnight. But surely demanding some sensitivity towards the plight of the poor is not too much to ask. To suggest that one can have a proper meal in Delhi for Rs 5 is really to make a mockery of poverty and the poor. It reflects either a complete lack of connect with reality or insensitivity or both.If this is what our lawmakers and policy framers actually believe, we are in serious trouble. If, on the other hand, they are saying such things for rhetorical effect, they deserve to be condemned.