Opposition uproar over rising prices of essential commodities paralysed the proceedings in Parliament on Tuesday, with the Rajya Sabha adjourning for the day at noon and the Lok Sabha witnessing two adjournments.
As debates and agitation on the issue of spiralling prices of essential commodities corner attention, the research and reference division of the library has come out with supporting material for MPs, bringing out background notes on price rise and global oil prices.
The TDP leader said the Congress-led government in Andhra Pradesh has failed on all fronts. He flayed the government for rampant corruption in the state saying that all the welfare schemes initiated by it were aimed to facilitate Congress workers only. Naidu said that Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which had fought the 2004 elections together, betrayed the people of Telangana after coming to power.
Days before the passage of the Finance Bill in the Parliament, Left party leaders on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded urgent steps by the United Progressive Alliance government to check growing prices of essential commodities. Top leaders of four Left parties, supporting the government placed six demands before him, saying these measures should be taken immediately to curb burgeoning prices.
Despite flooding the market with energy efficient and innovative products to lure consumers, the unprecedented increase in steel prices have forced the companies to pass on the burden to customer, who is already shelling out more for essential commodities. Samsung India Deputy MD R Zutshi told PTI that based on the input cost pressure linked with the hike in steel prices the company has already increased the prices of refrigerators by 2-3 per cent in March.
Members of the four Left parties and the Samajwadi Party on Friday walked out of the Lok Sabha to protest the government's 'lack of response' to their demand for a white paper on the rise in prices of essential commodities, especially food articles.Raising the issue, Communist Party of India - Marxist's Basudeb Acharia sought a white paper on the price situation, saying the government had 'failed' to take any steps to curb the rising trend of prices.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said the government must ensure that the prices of essential commodities remain affordable for the aam aadmi (common man). In a 'Letter to Congresspersons' in the latest issue of the party mouthpiece, she also put the onus of controlling price rise on the state governments, saying they should strengthen the public distribution system and control black marketing and hoarding.
"We will not hesitate to take the strictest measures, including using legal provisions against hoarding and profiteering whether in food, cement or steel," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said. The minister, who is in Singapore to attend the Incredible India @ 60 event showcasing the growth of a resurgent India, told reporters that though there was the provision of 18G of the Industrial Act, "we don't propose to use it."
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday exuded confidence that inflation would further decline and the government is on track to meet its budgetary target for deficit and said that there is no fear of stagflation in India. Replying to the debate on first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants 2022-23 in Lok Sabha, the finance minister said inflation has come down and it is now in the tolerable band of the RBI. Inflation has been declining since April 2022 and it is declining further, she said.
The government on Monday ruled out making public the RBI report detailing the reasons why the central bank could not keep inflation within the targeted 6 per cent upper limit for the three consecutive quarters. "Yes sir, RBI has furnished a report to the central government, as mandated under Section 45ZN of the RBI Act, 1934 and Regulation 7 of RBI Monetary Policy Committee and Monetary Policy process Regulations, 2016," minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply. The said provisions of the RBI Act, 1934, and regulations therein does not provide for making the report public, he said.
Charging the Centre of not doing anything to check the prices of essential commodities, the Bharatiya Janata Party said the increase was not just due to bad management but also a result of corruption.
The meeting assumes importance as prices of essential commodities continued to surge though the rate of price rise has come down in the recent weeks.
The jury is still out whether the GST will lower or increase your monthly budget, says Priya Nair.
While the government has roped in the railways to maintain supply of essential commodities besides taking other steps, transporters are saying they will not give up until their demands are met. Truckers have taken their vehicles off road since Sunday midnight, demanding reduction in diesel prices, exemption in service and toll taxes and a single permit for nationwide transportation among others.
Transporters went on an indefinite strike from midnight after their talks with the government failed for the third time on Sunday.
Following the failure of the third round of talks with the government, transporters on Sunday decided to go on an indefinite strike from midnight. Supplies of essential commodities may get disrupted in the coming days. Transporters demanded the lowering of diesel prices by Rs 10 per litre and the withdrawal of service tax on truckers.
Central pool of onions to be set up; offences under Essential Commodities Act to be made non-bailable.
The ministerial group is to look into pricing of some essential commodities, including petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas and PDS kerosene. The GoM also includes Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister T R Baalu and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar.
The SAD also castigated the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly betraying farmers by not opposing the passage of the bills in Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Sonia's political secretary Ahmed Patel were also present.
Police on Thursday prevented Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P Nedumaran from going on a fast in Chennai citing that he had no prior permission for it.
With the deregulation of petrol prices, the future looks grim for the Indian consumers.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram today revealed that while he favoured tough administrative measures to control price rise, there was no unanimity on this issue in cabinet.
Perfect timing is an essential commodity in cricket and the emergence of batsman Phillip Hughes could not have come at a better time for the Australians.
Authorities did not relax the curfew in Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Bhaderwah on Monday following the deaths of two young men in violent protests against reversion of land transfer to Amarnath board, officials said.
Angry over the 'steep hike' in fuel prices, the United Progressive Alliance's Left allieson Wednesday demanded a review of the decision as it announced a week-long nationwide agitation to protest the "unjustified burden" imposed on the common man.
As part of steps to control inflation and augment availability of essential commodities, the government is considering re-allocating wheat in place of rice for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes.
Dismissing as 'statistically insignificant' the 0.04 per cent hike in inflation, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the prices of essential commodities had begun to come down and this would be reflected in the inflation index after some time. Talking to reporters after the weekly briefing on the decisions of the Cabinet and its Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Chidambaram said the inflation figure released on Friday has come as a 'big relief'.
The widely-tracked wholesale price index (WPI), the cause of severe political pangs for the government every Friday, will be released on a monthly basis by the end of this year instead of weekly. In effect, instead of witnessing the release of inflation data for 52 consecutive weeks, the data will be made available only a dozen times a year.
Bowing to public pressure, the state government on Tuesday stayed the implementation of its controversial order seeking to restrict number of guests at marriage functions.
Criticising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advice not to politicise the issue of price rise, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday when high price of essential commodities hit people hard then it was the responsibility of the political parties to raise the issue and the ruling party to address it. "The people are hard hit whenever prices are increased and the ruling party has to resolve it," Kumar who was here to attend a wedding, told newsmen in Ranchi.
The Bhartiya Janata Party has questioned Finance minister P Chidambaram's comment that cartelisation by some politicians has led to increase in prices of essential commodities and other items like steel, iron and cement.
The Left parties and Telugu Desam Party jointly staged a protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad on Thursday in protest against the failure of Andhra Pradesh and Central governments in controlling the abnormal hike in the prices of essential commodities. The parties vowed to take up 'serious agitation' in future if the governments failed to act swiftly to control the price rise.
The Left parties, supporting the UPA from outside, have already decided to corner the Congress-led coalition on the issue of inflation at a time when opposition parties including BJP and SP have stepped up their attack. Samajwadi Party has plans to bring an adjournment motion on spiralling prices of essential commodities on the first day itself in the Lok Sabha for the phase II of Budget session. BJP too has threatened an adjournment motion.
The Cabinet Committee on Prices chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday reviewed inflation, including rising onion prices and decided to take further measures like cut in taxes and improving supply of essential commodities.
Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday reiterated that the Centre was ready to talk to the farmers protesting against the new agriculture laws, and said that mere gathering of crowd does not lead to revocation of legislations.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who has been given the task of looking after the Assembly elections in Chattisgarh, accused the Centre of betraying the common man by allowing steep rise in the prices of essential commodities and putting the country into an era of food insecurity.
Ahead of the crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Prices for considering options to tame rising inflation, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Monday the government is looking at further cuts in duties on import of essential commodities. "Yes, we are looking at further cuts. There is increase in international oil prices and it has to be met with import duty caliberation which we are considering," Nath told reporters in New Delhi.
The United Progressive Alliance government has failed to address the agrarian crisis and the price rise of essential commodities and there is a need for a third alternative, Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat said on Saturday. Speaking at the party's 19th Congress in Coimbatore, Karat said this third alternative cannot be merely an electoral alliance.
