Economist PM should talk about inflation, not GDP growth: BJP

As inflation surged to double digits, opposition BJP today demanded that prime minister Manmohan Singh should rein in  spiralling prices of essential commodities and talk less of achieving high GDP growth.

"We have heard enough of achieving high levels of GDP growth. The prime minister should talk more about controlling inflation," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters in New Delhi.

He said for a common man, the reference point was not 7-8% GDP growth but rise in prices of essential commodities.

Rudy said the government is led by an "economist prime minister" and the country expected him to take effective steps to rein in inflation.

Driven by spiralling prices of essential items, inflation surged to double digits at 10.16% in May, the highest in the last 19 months.

The essential items which have become expensive include pulses, sugar and vegetables. The prices of metal, textiles and plywood have also gone up, as inflation has spread to non-food items.

As per the provisional data, the previous high of 10.72% was witnessed in the last week of October, 2008.

Singh had said last month said that inflation would moderate to 5-6% by December.