Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Accusing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of failing to check inflation despite its assurances in parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday said people were losing hope and rising prices could become a cause for violence.

BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha said the government was “not ready to recognise inflation as a problem for aam aadmi (common man)” and it will not be surprising “if price rise becomes a cause for violence”.

Slamming Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement on inflation in the Lok Sabha, Sinha said that while the opposition parties had no hope from the government, people were also losing hope.

“We are disappointed with the finance minister’s reply… There is no ray of hope. The government remains totally paralysed even today with regard to inflation,” Sinha said.

“If the government has this attitude, the country will feel disappointed. People’s anger will burst somewhere. Price rise has broken the back of common man… the poor is feeling squeezed, consequences will be dangerous,” Sinha said,

Sinha said Mukherjee had spun “a yarn of statistics” in his reply and both inflation and food inflation were high.

Claiming that the government’s policies had failed to plan remedial measures for high inflation, he said the Lok Sabha had passed a unanimous resolution in the last session that the government will take effective steps to deal with the problem of inflation and price rise.

The BJP leader also said the rupee had seen devaluation of 1-2 percent everyday in the recent past and such “dangerous devaluation” had not happened earlier.

“Devaluation of rupee from September-end till now is 12 percent,” he said.

Sinha also said that foreign fund flows were not coming to the country but money was going out.

“There is pressure on the dollar,” he said.