By NNN-PTI,
Kolkata, India : Left MPs will march to Parliament tomorrow in protest against rising prices with the CPI-M warning that soaring inflation is like a “large albatross” on the UPA government’s neck that will spell trouble for the coalition during the ensuing elections.
“Price rise is the most crucial issue and it will be like a large albatross sitting on the UPA government’s neck in the coming election and as a supporting party we are telling them that they will be in trouble,” CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury said in a programme on ‘inflation and its impact on the economy’ here.
“Let the police arrest us during the march,” he said, adding the march to Parliament was not the normal way for MPs to agitate but “we have no other option.” “It(the march) is a part of the nationwide agitation to pressure the UPA government to take effective measures to bring down prices of essential commodities and contain inflation,” he said.
Yechury said the Left parties and the constituents of UNPA would hold agitation throughout the country from April 16 to 23 on the price rise issue.
The entire trajectory of the eight per cent plus economic growth would collapse unless the UPA government reined in inflation and controlled prices which made the life of common people miserable, Yechury said.
Asked what was stopping the Left parties from withdrawing support from the UPA government on this issue, Yechry replied, “If we pull down the UPA government on the price rise issue and if the BJP comes, they will follow the same policy. On the question of economic issue, Congress and BJP are almost the same.”
He demanded that the centre immediately ban forward trading on commodities and strengthen the PDS besides restructuring taxes on petroleum.