By IANS,
Lucknow: The Mayawati government Tuesday ordered action against food hoarders and black-marketers, after opposition Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s state wide protest demonstration against unprecedented rise in prices of essential goods.
“All district magistrates have been asked to take stern action against hoarders of essential commodities. No one would be spared no matter how high and mighty he might be,” Additional Cabinet Secretary V.S.Pandey told media persons here.
He said the chief minister was of the view that the price rise was a direct consequence of the economic policies framed by the central government and, therefore, it was wrong to blame the state government for it.
Pandey said the state was taking all steps within its powers to curb rising prices.
Referring to Mulayam Singh-led demonstration, he flatly denied that the state administration had used any force against the demonstrators. “We gave them all freedom to stage their protest, without allowing anyone to take law into his hands,” he said.
Pandey also refuted reports about Mulayam Singh having broken the security cordons to reach downtown for staging a sit-in before his arrest earlier in the day.
“The local administration was clearly instructed not to obstruct former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s path, so he was allowed to move and then taken into custody because no permission was granted for a rally,” he said.