GUWAHATI, April 6 � BJP president Nitin Gadkari today stated that wrong economic policies of the Congress government has led to double digit inflation in the country and demanded a white paper on price rise. In March 2010, inflation went up by 11 per cent in the country with prices of all essential commodities including foodgrain increasing sharply.
Addressing mediapersons here, Gadkari recalled that whenever the Congress came to power, the country went through an inflationary phase as the party has been following a policy that met the interest of the multinationals, big corporate houses, manipulators and speculators.
�Faulty and wrong economic, agriculture, import-export policy of the Congress government has resulted in food inflation which is 17 to 20 per cent in the last 20 weeks,� said Gadkari pointing out that 11 per cent inflation in the country was the highest in the world.
It needs to be mentioned here that as of date, inflation is 2.7 per cent in China, 2.6 per cent in America, 2.7 per cent in South Korea, 0.9 per cent in Europe, 1.0 per cent in Hong Kong, 2.4 per cent in Taiwan, 1.3 per cent in Malaysia and 0.2 per cent in Singapore.
The BJP has taken up a series of agitational programmes including collection of signatures of common people to protest against price rise.
Gadkari said that the BJP wanted concrete steps so that inflation is brought under control and common people do not have to struggle for food and all essential commodities.
�Now the prices of essential commodities are double in India compared to the world,� said Gadkari quoting international prices. The international price of wheat is Rs 8 per kg, whereas the price of wheat in India is Rs 18 to 24 per kg. The international price of sugar is Rs 17.68 per kg and in India the price is Rs 38 per kg. �Sugar price in India is more than double and wheat is 80 per cent more than prices in other countries,� mentioned Gadkari adding that wheat production in the country in the current year was highest at 82 million tons which was 75 million tons in 2006/07 and sugar production was 178 lakh tons.
�In spite of bumper crops and the government godowns overflowing, the common people are struggling for food,� said Gadkari asserting that a non-transparent and manipulative export import policy has contributed to the inflation. �India exported 48 lakh tons of sugar at Rs 12.50 per kg and re-imported at Rs 22 to 32 per kg. Inferior quality of wheat has been imported at Rs 18.50 per kg while Indian farmers were paid Rs 8.50 per kg,� said Gadkari demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister on the �scandalous export import policy�.
Expressing concern at the anti-people attitude of the Congress, Gadkari said that against the buffer stock requirement of 200 lakh tons, the government godowns as on March 1, 2010 had 453 lakh tons and foodgrains were rotting in the godowns, yet the Congress government did not release the buffer stock to mitigate the woes of the inflation hit common people.
Gadkari alleged that the commodity exchanges have turned into dens of speculation and manipulation and that out of the Rs 8,03,842 crores turnover in 2009 at the National Commodity Exchanges, delivery was just 0.28 per cent or Rs 2,243 crores. �Artificial turnover pushes up the prices of food items,� he said.
