Congress targets Centre on inflation

The main Opposition Congress Party on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over unprecedented inflation, the highest ever surge in food prices, suggesting that it would go aggressively against it inside and outside Parliament.

While drawing attention to how the BJP had exploited the price rise issue in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by coining a slogan “Bahut hui mahengai ki maar, abke bar Modi sarkar (Inflation has hit too hard, it’s time for a Modi government)”, the Congress said the unprecedented inflation showed “Bahut hui mahengai ki maar, aur nahi Modi sarkar (Inflation has hit too hard, that’s enough of Modi government)”.

“The consumer food price inflation at 7.55 per cent year-on-year in May has hit a 21-month high, tomatoes are being sold at Rs 100 per kg, retail prices of pulses are sky-rocketing at over Rs 170 per kg,” said senior AICC spokesperson Ajay Maken.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters Mr Maken said “In May, the overall retail inflation jumped to its highest levels in 19 months to 5.76 per cent. The WPI data released (on Tuesday) also reveals that, while vegetable inflation was marked at a high of 2.21 per cent in April, it broke all records and touched 12.94 per cent in May.”

“I ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley to kindly tell us who is responsible for the inflation to which the people of India are subjected to. Is it the Opposition or are they going to blame the farmers who are fighting drought without any assistance from the governemnt,” Mr Maken asked. “In two years we are seeing that the Modi government is breaking all records on price rise. Wholesale Price Index has grown insignificantly between April to May”, he told reporters.

While posing the question whether prices of pulses are high because crony capitalists close to the BJP ,can profit because they have business interests in this sector,he attacked the government for high prices of petrol and diesel when international prices of crude oil were at historic lows.

Faulting the government for putting “excessive” tax on fuel, he said that as per current international prices ruling at 58 dollars a barrel, petrol should cost Rs 38 per litre.

Meanwhile, the Congress dismissed findings of an inquiry panel that files relating to Ishrat Jahan case went missing in September 2009 when party leader P Chidambaram was the Home Minister.

“I do not think that is correct. I do not think any important file could go missing when Chidambaram was the Home Minister. He was a very hands-on minister,” Mr Maken said.

At that time, Maken was the deputy of Mr Chidambaram in the Home Ministry but was not looking after the Internal Security division to which the file belonged.

Reports earlier had it that the one-man inquiry panel probing the missing files related to the case has concluded that the papers were “removed knowingly or unknowingly or misplaced” in September, 2009.