Congress asks PM to show plan to contain inflation

New Delhi: Congress has targeted the government over surge in retail inflation and demanded that the prime minister hold a meeting with Opposition leaders and explain the government plan to contain spiraling prices of commodities.

“We demand that the PM should come forward and convene a meeting of all parties and present a roadmap for tackling prices of essential commodities in the next 30 or 60 days,” AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at the AICC briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday. Accusing the PM of indulging in politics of division rather than focusing on controlling inflation, the Congress spokesperson also questioned Modi's silence over “unprecedented” increase in prices of food items. The Congress attack came a day after the figures showed retail inflation rose about a five-and-half-year high of 7.35% in December 2019. Inflation was causing further misery for people already reeling under the effect of job losses and agrarian crisis due to the larger economic slowdown in the country, the party alleged.