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Manmohan rubbing salt into the wound: CPI(M)

Special Correspondent

With his comments on price rise and inflation

UPA government’s neo-liberal policies to blame for inflationary crisis
“Utter failure” to provide any relief to the people

NEW DELHI: Holding the neo-liberal policies of the United Progressive Alliance government responsible for the inflationary crisis, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday took exception to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remark that the government worked hard to ensure that inflation was not as high as in many other countries.

In a statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said compared to 2004, the retail price of wheat went up by over 60 per cent, of rice and pulses by nearly 50 per cent and of edible oil by over 40 per cent. The higher procurement of wheat this year had had no impact on the price in the open market.

In this context, the Prime Minister’s comments on price rise and inflation in his Independence Day address rubbed salt into the wound. He cited the rise in international prices of food and fuel.

While there were some developing countries like Venezuela, Egypt, and Pakistan, where very high inflation prevailed, there were several others such as China, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico, where the inflation rate was lower than that of India, the CPI(M) said.

“The government can ill-afford to seek solace in relatively higher inflation figures of some other developing countries,” the statement said and charged it with “utter failure” to provide any relief.

The UPA government, the CPI(M) said, failed on its crucial commitment made in the national Common Minimum Programme to universalise the public distribution system (PDS) and, instead, chose to slash foodgrains allocations from the Central pool, causing difficulties to the State governments.

Doing away with the failed Targeted PDS and expansion of a universal PDS would have gone a long way in providing some relief to the working people, who were reeling under the relentless increase in the prices of essential commodities.

Alternative proposals

Moreover, the prices of petrol and diesel had gone up seven times during the tenure of the UPA government, contributing to high inflation. The alternative proposals to cut excise duties on petro products were largely ignored.

“Instead of adopting such measures to provide relief to the common people, the UPA government seems hell-bent on pushing through the same neo-liberal policies, which are responsible for the inflationary crisis being witnessed today,” the statement said.

The CPI(M) reiterated its demand for restoration of the foodgrains allocation to the States and increase in food subsidy; a ban on futures trading in essential commodities and a cut in central excise duties on petrol and diesel to bring down fuel prices.

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