Arhar Modi: Rahul goes after PM over price rise

Jaitley returns fire, says NDA govt inherited raging inflation

NEW DELHI: Price rise came to a boil in Parliament on Thursday, with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi faulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the runaway cost of kitchen staples, a charge that prompted finance minister Arun Jaitley to spring to the government’s defence.

Gandhi highlighted spiralling prices of pulses such as the popular arhar dal, potato and tomato to tear into Modi’s poll promise of taming food inflation.

“There is a new slogan in villages, arhar Modi, arhar Modi, arhar Modi,” he said in the Lok Sabha, mimicking the BJP’s 2014 poll slogan of “Ghar Ghar Modi (Modi in every household)”.

He questioned Modi’s silence on price rise. “You talk about start up India, stand up India, make in India, but not price rise,” he said, mocking at Modi’s signature projects.

Finance minister Jaitley countered the Congress leader’s charge, and reeled out statistics to make his point that the price rise is seasonal.

“When the new produce arrives, prices go down,” he said, and asked if the Congress-led UPA was any better in checking spiked prices of essentials.

“The UPA government left behind a double-digit inflation. Today, steps have been taken in each sector to contain inflation. Any form of bluster is not a substitute of statistics.”

He also brushed aside Gandhi’s demand that Modi should announce a date by which the prices would come down. “Asking for a date is not the solution. It is about putting in place a policy to fight inflation,” the minister said.

Gandhi too listed out comparative prices of veggies and pulses in 2014 and 2016, saying tomato sold at ₹18 two years ago, but is selling at ₹55 now.