The Hindu : New Delhi News : Rein in price rise, BJP tells Centre

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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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New Delhi

Rein in price rise, BJP tells Centre

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, on Saturday accused the Congress leadership of not being concerned about the high cost of living and the ever rising prices which were taking a heavy toll of family budgets.

‘Wrong policies’

“The common man is suffering because of the ineffective policy of the Congress-led government at the Centre,” said Prof. Malhotra, who is also Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

“The BJP would raise this issue forcefully in the forthcoming Parliament session and try to make the Government and the bureaucracy take suitable measures to check the rising prices,” he added.

“As it is,” he said, “the prices of food items have gone up phenomenally and it is becoming very difficult for an average person to buy fruits and vegetables for his family. Even the prices of pulses and wheat flour are skyrocketing.”

Stating that because of the general price rise and the financial meltdown the economic situation was in the doldrums and many small manufacturing units had closed down, Prof. Malhotra said the statements of the Union Finance Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission had not been enough to restore public confidence.

“The clouds of uncertainty have started hovering over the Indian economic scene and some half-hearted measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India do not seem to be cutting much ice. The Sensex is going down and one fails to understand where the economy of the country is heading, though the Prime Minister is considered to be a leading economist,” he said.

“If the situation is not corrected,” he warned, “the patience of the people would wear down very soon and this would not be a healthy sign for the Government.” The Delhi Government too should take immediate steps to check the rise in prices of essential commodities so that public worries were minimised, he added.

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