Gadkari asks PM to explain price rise

Gadkari asks PM to explain price rise

New Delhi: Accusing the UPA government of failing to check prices, the BJP on Thursday asked prime minister Manmohan Singh whether those in power had vested interests in making suggestive forecasts about shortages in food production to create panic.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari put forward 14 questions to the prime minister regarding the price rise, plight of the farmers and aam aadmi and reasons behind its failure in curbing inflationary trends.
"Where have things gone wrong?" was Gadkari's first question. He said though the Chinese GDP growth is 9.5% as against India's 7.2%, it had 2% inflation and India 11%. He asked if the PM could deny that inflation in India was much higher at 11% as against global inflation of 1-2%.
Gadkari sought an explanation on why the government failed to create a buffer stock of foodgrains. "Don't you owe an explanation to the people?" he said. He asked the PM whether he pleaded "ignorance about your scandalous export "import policies".
Pointing out discrepancies in the poverty statistics given by government bodies, he said "the Planning Commission put the BPL population in its 2005 report at 31 crore, Tendulkar Committee in 2009 put it at 42 crore, and you claim poverty has declined".
The BJP chief said while godowns were overflowing and foodgrains, "then why are prices skyrocketing?"—PTI