Cong wakes up to rising prices
With Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh due in about two months, the Congress is getting ready to defend the UPA government on the issue of price rise in essential items.
By Aarthi Ramachandran, TNN |
NEW DELHI: With Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh due in about two months, the Congress is getting ready to defend the UPA government on the issue of price rise in essential items.
The Left and the BJP have sharpened their attack on the UPA government over this issue in the recent days, with the Opposition party deciding to make it a campaign theme in the Gujarat elections.
After having admitted that its defeats in the Punjab and Uttarakhand Assembly elections earlier this year were influenced by price rise in essential goods, the Congress is now set to document all the measures taken by the UPA government so far to contain the surge in prices of essential commodities. “We are working something out (on price rise),” Congress media department chairperson, Veerappa Moliy, said.
According to Mr Moily, the Central government has already taken a number of steps to contain the wholesale prices of essential goods, and now retail prices needed to bought under control by the state governments.
“The whole sale price index is down at about 3.3% and the Centre has worked out measures to contain prices. We have also taken other measures such as curbing forward trading (in food grains). Now about retail prices, the state governments have a great role to play,” Mr Moily said. He said it was up to the state governments to enforce the Essential Commodities Act effectively to check hoarding.
The Congress’ newly constituted ‘Publicity and Publications Committee’, which could discuss the price rise issue at its next meeting on 23 August, and the party’s ‘Department on Policy Planning and Co-ordination’ (DEPCO) are working on the document, according to party sources. Mr Moily also pointed out that the Congress has been meeting to take stock of the price rise issue regularly and that party President Sonia Gandhi had chaired a number of meetings on the subject.
On being asked about the Left’s charge that government had failed to bring price rise under control, Mr Moily said the Communists should act as “role models for the whole country” by bringing down retail prices in the States controlled by them.
The CPI had held demonstrations in the Capital two days back to highlight problems faced by the ‘aam aadmi’ over ‘price rise’ and ‘collapse of the Public Distribution System (PDS)’.
The leaders, lead by CPI general secretary AB Bardhan, also courted arrest. The CPM central committee in its October 1 resolution on price rise expressed “deep concern at the continuing price rise of food items and essential commodities”.
It said that though the government claimed the rate of inflation was at the lowest level in the last two years, there was no respite for the common man due to the rise in prices of vegetables, edible oil, wheat, dal and other items. “The government has miserably failed to tackle the price rise by taking firm measures to stop speculation and hoarding of essential commodities,” it said.
The Left and the BJP have sharpened their attack on the UPA government over this issue in the recent days, with the Opposition party deciding to make it a campaign theme in the Gujarat elections.
After having admitted that its defeats in the Punjab and Uttarakhand Assembly elections earlier this year were influenced by price rise in essential goods, the Congress is now set to document all the measures taken by the UPA government so far to contain the surge in prices of essential commodities. “We are working something out (on price rise),” Congress media department chairperson, Veerappa Moliy, said.
According to Mr Moily, the Central government has already taken a number of steps to contain the wholesale prices of essential goods, and now retail prices needed to bought under control by the state governments.
“The whole sale price index is down at about 3.3% and the Centre has worked out measures to contain prices. We have also taken other measures such as curbing forward trading (in food grains). Now about retail prices, the state governments have a great role to play,” Mr Moily said. He said it was up to the state governments to enforce the Essential Commodities Act effectively to check hoarding.
The Congress’ newly constituted ‘Publicity and Publications Committee’, which could discuss the price rise issue at its next meeting on 23 August, and the party’s ‘Department on Policy Planning and Co-ordination’ (DEPCO) are working on the document, according to party sources. Mr Moily also pointed out that the Congress has been meeting to take stock of the price rise issue regularly and that party President Sonia Gandhi had chaired a number of meetings on the subject.
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On being asked about the Left’s charge that government had failed to bring price rise under control, Mr Moily said the Communists should act as “role models for the whole country” by bringing down retail prices in the States controlled by them.
The CPI had held demonstrations in the Capital two days back to highlight problems faced by the ‘aam aadmi’ over ‘price rise’ and ‘collapse of the Public Distribution System (PDS)’.
The leaders, lead by CPI general secretary AB Bardhan, also courted arrest. The CPM central committee in its October 1 resolution on price rise expressed “deep concern at the continuing price rise of food items and essential commodities”.
It said that though the government claimed the rate of inflation was at the lowest level in the last two years, there was no respite for the common man due to the rise in prices of vegetables, edible oil, wheat, dal and other items. “The government has miserably failed to tackle the price rise by taking firm measures to stop speculation and hoarding of essential commodities,” it said.
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