By IANS,
New Delhi: Lashing out at the government for its allegedly flawed pricing policy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Thursday sought from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh answers to 14 questions on “mehangai (inflation), poverty and food chaos”.
Food inflation, Gadkari said, has remained within 17 to 20 percent for the last 20 weeks. “Where have things gone wrong?” he asked, remarking that 11 percent inflation in India was the “highest in the world”.
“Do you deny that inflation in India is 11 percent as against global inflation of one to two percent?”
Gadkari said the Chinese GDP growth was 9.5 percent in comparison to India’s 7.2, but China has only two percent inflation and India 11 percent.
In a statement, the BJP president said that the cost of sugar in the country was more than double and wheat was 80 percent more expensive than in other countries. He asked the prime minister: “Is it not true that the prices of food articles are 80 percent higher than in the world market?”
He said that “down-trodden and middle class” in India were finding it difficult to make ends meet. “Don’t you agree?”
Alleging that 48 lakh tonnes of sugar were exported at Rs.12.5 and re-imported at Rs.22 to Rs.32 per kg, the BJP leader sought an explanation from the government. “You prefer to export sugar and import it, but not create any buffer stock.”
Gadkari wondered about the “skyrocketing prices leaving people half fed”, when the government warehouses were overflowing and food grain were rotting.
He said the export-import policies of the government were “scandalous” and asked: “Do you plead ignorance?”
He ridiculed the government’s claims that poverty had reduced. “The Planning Commission put BPL (below poverty level) population in its 2005 report at 31 crore. And in December 2009 Tendulkar Committee puts it at 42 crore, and still you claim ‘garibi ghati hai’?”.
“Are you really giving them food?”
Citing the government appointed Saxena Committee, Gadkari pointed out that 51 percent poor have been denied BPL ration cards and deprived of food grain.