By IANS,
New Delhi : Three women Lok Sabha MPs Thursday criticised the rising prices of essential commodities, saying they were not satisfied with efforts of the central and state governments to check the situation.
“The central government should be more assertive,” said Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar of Trinamool Congress, which is part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
“This is a very difficult time for the poor. The middle class is also heavily hit by the price rise,” Dastidar, who represents Barasat Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, told IANS on telephone from Kolkata.
She added that drought and global meltdown had also contributed to the rising prices of essential commodities. She also accused West Bengal’s Left Front government of not doing enough to deal with the crisis.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Darshana Vikram Jardosh said the people had lost faith in the UPA government.
“The government even adjourned the house early without discussion on price rise,” said Jardosh, referring to the early adjournment of the winter session of Lok Sabha Dec 18.
Susmita Bauri, the lone woman MP of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), said her party has regularly voiced concern over rising prices.
“The central government should take steps to strengthen the public distribution system,” Bauri said.
Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan declined to comment on the issue, saying: “I don’t want to react.”