Opposition declares war against government’s inept handling of food price rise.
With the ruling UPA engaged in a blame game over spiraling food prices ahead of parliament’s budget session, the main opposition BJP launched a frontal attack on the issue on Wednesday, alleging a Rs2.8-lakh crore “scandal” at the commodity exchange.
Launching his first agitation in the national capital after assuming charge as BJP president, Nitin Gadkari lashed out at the ruling coalition saying prime minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar were “collectively responsible for the unprecedented hike in food prices”.
Flanked by leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and senior leaders Ananth Kumar and Murli Manohar Joshi, Gadkari claimed that rather than resolving the issue, the Centre was busy “fighting over fixing blame for the price rise ”.
Hitting out at Pawar, Gadkari said, “Prices are rising, but our agriculture minister is not concerned. He is concerned about IPL matches. I don’t know if he is the civil supplies minister or the cricket minister. The prime minister should appoint him as cricket minister.”
Likening the rising prices of sugar and pulses to one-day cricket matches, the BJP president said, “Price rise has become like a one-day match and Pawar is the coach of the team. The price of sugar has crossed the half-century mark while price of pulses has crossed a century.”
Swaraj said the Congress had made it a habit to bring back inflation whenever it came to power. “Whenever Congress comes to power, they break the shoulders of the common man and bring the ghost of price rise with them,” she said.
Strongly criticising the commodity exchange, the BJP president alleged that the UPA government was presiding over a “Rs2.8-lakh crore scandal” in the name of commodity exchange and snatching away food from poor people.
The Left Front has also raised serious concerns over the government’s failure in controlling the spiraling inflation in food prices. Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo leader Brinda Karat called upon all “secular forces” to join the Left Front’s nationwide agitation against rising prices on March 12. The BJP has planned a gherao of parliament when the budget session starts on February 22.
Karat also cautioned the UPA government against any hike in fuel prices, saying any such decision would be “intolerable” and result in nationwide protests.
NCP slams Cong
Meanwhile, Pawar’s NCP hit back at its ally, the Congress, for blaming the agriculture minister. Slamming the Congress for “fixing responsibility on matters like price rise on the agriculture minister”, NCP spokesperson DP Tripathi said the party was making a “mockery” of the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet.
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