By IANS,
New Delhi : Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee sought to assure parliament Thursday that all possible steps were being taken to tacle price rise, and said there was no need to moderate growth in a bid to tame inflation.
“There is no inherent contradiction between inflation and growth,” Mukherjee said in a debate in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, on an opposition motion that expreses deep concern over price rise.
He said in the 1980s, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged slightly above 5 percent, and around 6 percent in the 1990s, which were relatively low compared with the growth of around 8-8.5 percent now.
“Was inflation low at that time? No!” Mukherjee said, adding several steps were needed to tame inflation and that the house — both the members of the treasury and opposition — must collectively ensure these measures are allowed to be taken.
His comments came against the backdrop of India’s annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices inching up to 9.44 percent for June from 9.06 percent for the week before and opposition’s demand that the government either tames price rise or quits.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, a former finance minister himself, Wednesday said the opposition will not remain a mute spectator to price rise that was imposing a huge burden on average citizens. “This house will not tolerate it and say go, go.”