Parliament: Sitharaman to speak on price rise in Rajya Sabha today, Oppn gears up to push for discussion on Agnipath

After replying to the debate on price rise in Lok Sabha on Monday which saw a walkout by the opposition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to speak on the issue in Rajya Sabha today. 

Meanwhile, the Opposition is likely to push its demand for a discussion on the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme once the debate on price rise has been taken up in both the Houses, PTI reported quoting sources on Sunday. 

Opposition leaders said while there is a consensus among them about the need for a discussion on Agnipath, which had sparked violent protests across the country, they had varied stands on the subject. “We will definitely raise the issue in Parliament, however there is very little time to force a discussion on it as the session is ending on August 12 and in between there is a weekend, the vice presidential election as well as the farewell for (outgoing vice president) Venkaiah Naidu,” PTI quoted an opposition leader as saying.

In her two-hour long reply to a debate on price rise, Sitharaman on Monday said that India does not face any risk of either recession or stagflation as its macroeconomic fundamentals are “perfect”. She said India continues to be a fast-growing economy in the world quoting reports of global agencies. Not satisfied with the reply, the opposition led by the Congress staged a walkout.

Sitharaman said that India is doing better than its peers and "there is no question of India getting into recession or stagflation ... There is no question of us getting into stagflation or like the US a technical recession."

Acknowledging that the country faces inflationary pressure, the Finance Minister said that the government has been able to contain it below 7 per cent despite problems like COVID-19 and Omicron.

Efforts are being made to bring down retail inflation below 7 per cent, the minister said. Prices of edible oils have corrected sharply following steps taken by the government, she added.

Sitharaman countered repeated opposition's criticism that Modi government has increased GST on essential items, saying it was an unanimous decision of GST Council comprising of State Finance Minister and Union Finance Minister.

A 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) was levied on essential food items including pre-packed curd, paneer, honey, wheat jaggery, puffed rice (muri), among others, effective July 18.

In addition, hotel rooms with tariff of up to Rs 1,000/day, maps and charts, including atlases, invited 12 per cent GST, while 18 per cent GST has been levied on tetra packs and fees charged by banks for the issue of cheques (loose or in book form).

The Congress said Sitharaman's reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha on price rise was nothing but a "zero" and expectedly, a denial that a problem exists.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Centre had agreed to hold the debate on price rise only after pressure from the Opposition.

"After two weeks of obstinacy and cussedness, and because of sustained Opposition pressure, Modi Sarkar agreed to debate price rise in LS today.

"FM's reply was as expected a denial that a problem exists. Households across the country will disagree with her. Tomorrow debate in Rajya Sabha," Ramesh wrote on Twitter.