NEW DELHI: Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled States will on Wednesday explain to the Central leadership the problems in tackling price rise.

The Chief Ministers, along with senior party functionaries, will put their heads together here to analyse the situation that has led to a sharp increase in the prices of essential commodities.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called the meeting in an attempt to find out a solution to a problem that has begun affecting the Aam Aadmi (common man).

Discomfiture

Having come to power in the 2004 general elections by launching a direct attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Government for having ignored the common man, the Congress is now facing the heat with its adversaries hurling the same charge at it.

Adding to the Congress discomfort, the Left parties are launching a countrywide protest week from July 13 on the issue of price rise. On the eve of the Chief Ministers' meeting, Ms. Gandhi met party general secretaries. Party sources said that after hearing the Chief Ministers, a plan to attack the problem would be formulated and the Congress would coordinate with the State Governments in its implementation.

NDA policies responsible

There is a view that the current situation was the result of several steps the previous Government did or did not take. For instance, changes in the Essential Commodities Act to allow farm produce to be taken straight from the land has resulted in free movement across the country. While farmers have benefited to some extent, traders and middlemen have made the most of this gesture. Similarly, with buffer stocks coming down each year, the NDA Government ought to have taken a decision on imports and ensured that required stocks were available.

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