Many members accused Pawar of fomenting a fear psychosis among people by making indiscreet statements.
Meeting in the backdrop of zooming food prices, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Friday witnessed a veiled attack on agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.
Many members accused him of fomenting a fear psychosis among people by making indiscreet statements.
While prime minister Manmohan Singh assured CWC members that all ministries concerned and the state governments were working in tandem to tackle prices and “the results would be visible in the next few weeks’’, he did little to check the barrage against Pawar.
Leading the charge against the agriculture minister, minister for heavy industries Vilasrao Deshmukh blamed him for creating problems for people through his statements. ``He gives a statement and next day prices go up,’’ said Deshmukh. Rajya Sabha member Satyavrat Chaturvedi echoed Deshmukh. Senior leader RK Dhawan criticised the agriculture minister for deflecting the blame for price rise on the prime minister.
Sources said some members suggested that the department of consumer affairs be taken away from Pawar, but this was strongly denied by Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi. Some members, including chief ministers, were critical of the functioning of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). They said it was not making timely supplies of foodgrains for the public distribution system. The state-owned FCI is under the administrative control of the food ministry under Pawar.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi set the tone for the discussion by expressing concern over price rise. As many as 18 members, including Digvijay Singh, Mohsina Kidwai as also some party chief ministers gave suggestions to control the situation. Senior leader Karan Singh even demanded a draconian law to check hoarding and black marketing, party sources said.
The meeting also rang a word of caution on hiking petroleum fuel prices in an environment of general price rise. The government is mulling seriously to effect a hike on the basis of the Kirit Parikh committee recommendation.
CWC member Keshav Rao said, ``The common man is already groaning under the impact of rise in prices of pulses, wheat. A hike in petroleum prices will be back-breaking.”
(With PTI inputs)
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