By IANS,
New Delhi : Blaming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the hike in diesel, kerosene and cooking gas prices, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday alleged that the revenue earned by the central government through the hike is routed to Congress-ruled states.
Talking to reporters here, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the country was seeing high inflation despite the prime minister being an able economist.
“BJP would like to remind the country who made this decision. It is the prime minister. In no other country, the PM is such a big economist, yet the economic situation of the country is so bad. BJP would like to know what is the benefit for the nation for having an economist as prime minister,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
He also alleged a “conspiracy” in the decision to hike prices.
“It is a conspiracy against the whole financial system. The Congress government increases the prices at the centre and then the Congress governments reduce it in states.”
“The income from the increase is slipped through the back door to Congress-ruled states, while the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) ruled states are discriminated against,” he said.
The central government Friday (June 24) announced a hike in the price of diesel by Rs.3 per litre, kerosene by Rs.2 a litre and cooking gas by Rs.50 per cylinder of 14.4 kg.
Kerala, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have so far announced reduction in prices of diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) after the hike.
Haryana, Delhi and Kerala have Congress-led governments, while in West Bengal, it is the junior partner in the Trinamool Congress-led government. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are ruled by the BJP, while Punjab is ruled by BJP’s ally in the National Democratic Alliance, the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The spokesperson added that the impact of this rise will lead to a double-digit inflation.
“The whole country is reeling under a severe price rise situation. The situation was similar when an increase in petrol prices was followed by inflation reaching double digits,” he said. “In next two months, inflation will be around 11 percent.”