Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 1: Former Minister and Senior Congress leader Yogesh Sawhney today attacked the Centre for the incessant price hike of essential commodities in Jammu and across the nation.
He said that amidst growing concerns over the third wave of the pandemic, another woe is added to their list of worries in the form of this unreasonable price hike. From fuel to essential food items, such as refined oil, mustard oil and even milk are getting costlier by the day, he said, adding that people have dealt with a heavy blow to their livelihoods because of the continuing pandemic amidst which prices have shot up across the country causing a lot of trouble for a lot of people.
“Especially for food, prices rose by 5 percent just in April, when primary commodities saw a rise of 10.16 per cent and manufactured products rose by 9.01 per cent, and then went on to increase further in the months of May and June. And as for fuel, in many States, the petrol prices have already crossed Rs 100/litre and in many states, they are inching closer to that mark,” said Yogesh Sawhney.
The former Minister added that the BJP Government is giving bizarre justifications for this price rise and blaming international markets and the pandemic. “But the inflation is not pandemic-induced as the Government claims to be. It has been induced by this Government’s policies. In the month of June alone, fuel prices were hiked on 16 different occasions. Price of LPG has also increased by Rs 26 in the last month,” he added.
The Congress leaders stressed that the Government must immediately take steps to control inflation so that prices of essential commodities come down to reasonable and affordable prices. Secondly, he added, it must draft a well-structured plan to make direct cash transfers to the most vulnerable and most affected populations of the country in all states. “Extension of Government schemes should be made in such a way that they cover the most needy sections. Many deserving sections remain deprived and uncovered,” he said.
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