The Hindu : National : Rein in prices or quit, says Advani

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Thursday, Apr 17, 2008
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Rein in prices or quit, says Advani

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has blown the election war bugle on the issue of rising prices with Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani saying that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government should control the prices or quit.

Mr. Advani was addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting where rising prices dominated the discussion. The party has decided that in a couple of days, its office-bearers will meet and finalise a massive agitation on the issue. Party leaders openly acknowledge that prices may become the most potent electoral weapon in their hands in the next few months when several State Assembly elections are due.

“People agitated”

While Mr. Advani told his partymen that there has “not been another time in recent memory when the issue of price rise has so intensely agitated the minds” of people, although a few hours later Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, while participating in the Lok Sabha discussion on the subject, reminded MPs that in 2000-01, inflation had been “over 8 per cent for 12 weeks” when global conditions were far better than today.

The BJP leader reportedly charged the UPA with being short on truth when quoting the wholesale price index, which had not been changed for several items for many months. “A government that is not truthful with its citizens is not fit to govern,” he added.

Briefing reporters on the meeting, party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, V.K. Malhotra, said the wholesale price index was “illusory” and the consumer price index showed a higher rate of inflation. He said party MPs pointed out that different Ministers in the UPA government were trotting out varied excuses for not being able to control inflation. They were blaming State governments, crude oil prices, world food shortage, diversion of agricultural land and corn for producing bio-fuels and ethanol. “Sinhasan khali karo” (vacate the throne of power) was the BJP’s call, he said.

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