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NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for, what it said, its “failure” to control inflation. Describing the prime minister as ‘Menhgaai-Man’, it alleged that inflation had broken all records under his regime. The women’s wing of the principal opposition party staged a flash protest against the rising inflation in front of the ruling BJP office.
In a statement, the Congress said the prices of essential commodities had skyrocketed and the government did not seem to bother while the poor and the middle classes were facing the brunt of the backbreaking inflation.
“Till now we had heard of the Superman, the Spiderman and the He-Man and now we have the Menhgaai-Man,” party spokesperson and chairperson social media and digital platforms Surpiya Shrinate said.
During a press conference at the AICC headquarters, she pointed out that the prices of vegetables like tomatoes which were selling between Rs 10 and Rs 15 per kg just a month ago, are now selling for Rs 100 to Rs 150 per kg.
She asked the government to immediately reduce the excise duty on fuel. She said ruthless taxation leads to additional cost of transportation that eventually ends up in a rise in the prices of essential commodities like vegetables and the burden is passed on to the common man.
Meanwhile, the workers of the All India Mahila Congress, led by its acting president Netta D’souza, staged a flash protest against the rising inflation, in front of the BJP office. The protestors wanted to draw the attention of the ruling party towards the rise in prices “that has made the life of a common man difficult”.
They were carrying placards displaying the prevailing prices of essential commodities to open the eyes of the powers that be.
According to the Congress spokespersons, the protestors were brutally assaulted and manhandled by the Delhi Police. Party general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh condemned the police “high handedness” saying Delhi Police had crossed all limits and broken the discipline as the male cops manhandled and roughed up the female protestors. It reminded of the brutal way the same police dealt with the female wrestlers a few months ago, he added.
Drawing comparisons between the prices of essential commodities prevailing today with those prevailing during the UPA government, Shrinate said the prices of aata (flour) had risen by 46% since 2013, while that of rice had increased by 25%. Similarly the prices of pulses like Urrad had increased from Rs 72 per kg to Rs 160 to Rs 170 per kg and that of mustard oil had also more than doubled from Rs 90 per kg to Rs 185 per kg during the last ten years.
The Congress spokesperson said the poor and the middle classes in India were faced with a double whammy. On the one side they had to face the backbreaking inflation, on the other hand there was a rise in unemployment. She pointed out, the unemployment rate was the highest right now. Even those, she added, who were employed were not having sufficient income. She quoted recent government figures, which said that the prices of nine out of ten essential commodities had skyrocketed.
To bring home her point about backbreaking inflation and how much the prices had gone up beyond the reach of the common man, Shrinate displayed a vegetable basket which, she said, cost Rs 1,070 and contained just one kg of tomatoes, one kg of ginger, one kg of green chili and one kg of lemons. Pointing towards the basket, she suggested that instead of gifting sweets to people, one should gift them “vegetable baskets” like the one she carried, as it was very expensive and would be liked by everyone.
In a statement, the Congress said the prices of essential commodities had skyrocketed and the government did not seem to bother while the poor and the middle classes were facing the brunt of the backbreaking inflation.
“Till now we had heard of the Superman, the Spiderman and the He-Man and now we have the Menhgaai-Man,” party spokesperson and chairperson social media and digital platforms Surpiya Shrinate said.
During a press conference at the AICC headquarters, she pointed out that the prices of vegetables like tomatoes which were selling between Rs 10 and Rs 15 per kg just a month ago, are now selling for Rs 100 to Rs 150 per kg.
She asked the government to immediately reduce the excise duty on fuel. She said ruthless taxation leads to additional cost of transportation that eventually ends up in a rise in the prices of essential commodities like vegetables and the burden is passed on to the common man.
Meanwhile, the workers of the All India Mahila Congress, led by its acting president Netta D’souza, staged a flash protest against the rising inflation, in front of the BJP office. The protestors wanted to draw the attention of the ruling party towards the rise in prices “that has made the life of a common man difficult”.
They were carrying placards displaying the prevailing prices of essential commodities to open the eyes of the powers that be.
According to the Congress spokespersons, the protestors were brutally assaulted and manhandled by the Delhi Police. Party general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh condemned the police “high handedness” saying Delhi Police had crossed all limits and broken the discipline as the male cops manhandled and roughed up the female protestors. It reminded of the brutal way the same police dealt with the female wrestlers a few months ago, he added.
Drawing comparisons between the prices of essential commodities prevailing today with those prevailing during the UPA government, Shrinate said the prices of aata (flour) had risen by 46% since 2013, while that of rice had increased by 25%. Similarly the prices of pulses like Urrad had increased from Rs 72 per kg to Rs 160 to Rs 170 per kg and that of mustard oil had also more than doubled from Rs 90 per kg to Rs 185 per kg during the last ten years.
The Congress spokesperson said the poor and the middle classes in India were faced with a double whammy. On the one side they had to face the backbreaking inflation, on the other hand there was a rise in unemployment. She pointed out, the unemployment rate was the highest right now. Even those, she added, who were employed were not having sufficient income. She quoted recent government figures, which said that the prices of nine out of ten essential commodities had skyrocketed.
To bring home her point about backbreaking inflation and how much the prices had gone up beyond the reach of the common man, Shrinate displayed a vegetable basket which, she said, cost Rs 1,070 and contained just one kg of tomatoes, one kg of ginger, one kg of green chili and one kg of lemons. Pointing towards the basket, she suggested that instead of gifting sweets to people, one should gift them “vegetable baskets” like the one she carried, as it was very expensive and would be liked by everyone.
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