Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS) On a day India recorded a sharp fall in food inflation after months of high prices, the government Thursday found itself at the receiving end of opposition MPs for its alleged failure to curb rising prices and was roundly slammed for its argument that changing dietary habits could be a cause.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tried to defend when he intervened during an animated debate in the Lok Sabha on the price-rise issue, saying it was not proper to blame the government for the rising inflation.

He gave figures but his mathematics failed to cut any ice, and he was even told tersely by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj that “people’s stomach is not filled by numbers, but with food”.

Initiating the debate, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta said prices of essential commodities were spiralling because of the government’s “failure to contain inflation”.

“Rising prices of essential commodities reflect abject failure of the government. Price rise is incessant over the years and the government inaction is also persisting,” Dasgupta told the house, inviting a thunderous applause from opposition MPs.

Congress MP P.C. Chako said the concerns expressed by the opposition were “genuine” but defended the government by saying that blaming it was inappropriate.

“Spiraling inflation has slowly taken into grip the global economy and we are not isolated. The government has taken several measures, which includes imposing a ban on sugar and onion exports, to increase production and productivity. This is the reason why inflation has come down significantly in the recent months,” Chacko said.

Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at the government, saying the government’s explanation was not enough to curb the inflation.

“You sometimes say that people’s dietary habits have changed, the population has grown and these factors have led to inflation. Pranab-da, tell me which poor man eats so much today that prices get inflated,” she asked.

Swaraj lambasted the government for highlighting rising incomes. “Please also look at the poor. I am here to talk about the cart-pullers. Has their income increased? The fact is they have lost everything they had to inflation. Please look at them when you boast of rising incomes,” she said.

“The prices have risen because of your flawed economic policies,” she said, urging the government to find an immediate solution to the crisis and stop making technical statements.

“Your reply was too technical and you have tried to catch in the web of figures and percentages a common man who is already caught in a web of inflation,” she said.

Intervening in the debate, Mukherjee said India’s food inflation has fallen sharply to 6.60 percent for the week ended Nov 26 as compared to 8 percent in the previous week as onions, potatoes, vegetables and wheat had became cheaper.

Mukherjee said rising oil prices was also to be blamed for inflation. “Can we take such a simplistic view or shouldn’t we try and take corrective measures,” he said.

The debate on what the opposition says is a “burning issue” was allowed after insistence from the BJP and the Left parties.

But how serious they were in discussing the issue can be assessed from the attendance of members present during the crucial debate in the Lok Sabha.

The attendance was never below the minimum number of MPs - 55 - required for any debate. But for most of the time during the debate the semi-circular chambers of the Lok Sabha wore a rather deserted look in the opposition as well as the ruling side. At one point of time, there was only 70 MPs present in the house of 543.

Most of the BJP and Left MPs walked away after their leaders had spoken and at one point the senior most minister present on treasury benches was Sharad Pawar.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also sat through the debate though she moved out of the house for sometime in between.

Mukherjee will be replying to the debate Friday.