Sonia to meet Cong CMs on soaring prices

NEW DELHI: The Congress high command’s anxiety over the issue of price rise first spawned a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting where the politically sensitive issue was discussed elaborately and the UPA government rapped for not having done enough or at in time to curb the price spiral.

Next the high command has decided to hold a meeting of chief ministers of Congress-ruled states on July 5, a suggestion made at the CWC meet, to discuss the issue once more and come up with ways to check rising prices of essential commodities.

The idea for a meeting of party CMs came out a suggestion made at the CWC meet, where members talked of the need to ask states to undertake strident ‘de-hoarding’ exercises for pulses and foodgrains and other items.

That the Congress is taking the issue seriously is evident in the fact that no such meeting of party CMs has been called to discuss one particular issue since the UPA came to power in ‘04. A conclave of party chief ministers is being planned a few months time as well.

The CWC meeting, which saw several senior Congress leaders attacking the government over its performance on price rise, was presided over by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and was attended by finance minister P Chidambaram, as a capacity of special invitee.

The party’s growing fears about a political backlash to the price rise situation were amply clear in arguments made by several CWC members, who rejected the growth figures presented by the government and instead chose to put the spotlight on the interests of the common man or the ‘aam aadmi’.