Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS) Defending the government strongly, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that inflation was coming down, but an unconvinced Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out over his “helplessness” in tackling price rise.

Replying to the debate in the Rajya Sabha on price rise, the finance minister quoted figures to buttress his claim that inflation has been coming down gradually, and sought cooperation from the opposition in reforms, especially in ushering Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.

Mukherjee Thursday said several issues were to blame for the price rise, including poor distribution system, international economy and rise in global petroleum prices.

Members of the main opposition BJP, however, said they rejected the “state of helplessness” expressed by the finance minister and staged a walkout from the house.

Mukherjee, in his reply, pointed out that food inflation has come down from 11.8 percent in week ending Oct 29 to 6.6 percent in week ending Nov 26.

“Every week, it is coming down,” he said.

He pointed out that retail prices of 30 essential commodities - including rice, wheat and pulses - have either fallen or registered only a “marginal increase” during the last two years.

“It is not correct to say that government has not done anything,” he said.

He said that over the year “inflation in food items is more or less steady, it is 15 percent, but non-food primary articles, primary articles and food articles, the prices are declining”.

Mukherjee added that prices of petroleum were not entirely regulated and blamed international situation for the rise in petrol prices. He, however, added that “when I say prices will come down, they will not come down overnight”.

An angry opposition, however, said that the minister was expressing “helplessness”.

“We tried our best to have a very constructive debate… my only submission is that during the six years they have been in power, nobody stopped them from taking structural changes, and now today, the seventh year also the finance minister comes and expresses helplessness. We can’t help it, sir, we are walking out,” BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said.

The debate on price rise was taken up by the Rajya Sabha Wednesday after the house functioned normally after being repeatedly adjourned over successive days on a slew of issues, including FDI in retail.