'Surging inflation a conspiracy against commoner'

{image-business world pic6565_04042008.jpg news.oneindia.in}New Delhi, Apr 4: As soaring inflation touched seven per cent today, the BJP said the apprehension that the UPA will not be able to check the prices had come true and 'the management of the economy' has become a conspiracy against the common man.

''It is satire that under the management of the government headed by an economist, the prices of essential food, rents, housing costs are increasing,'' BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley said, adding ''If the wholesale price index itself is seven per cent than one can only think of the oppression the prices could make at the consumer levels.'' He said the country under the UPA rule had moved back to the era of shortages from the food surplus days under the previous NDA where the food stocks were maintained through timely imports when the production levels were not upto the mark.

The UPA is showing no such foresight and has left the Aam Admi to fend for himself with no governmental support. "If the inflation in the present regime has become an unlegislated tax on the masses and the problem can only get confounded in the future, the party will take the issue to the people throughout the country" he added.

In a separate statement, BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad attacked the dismal track record of the UPA government in containing the inflation, price rise, food and national security. The Government besides displaying pathalogical fixation of mindless criticism of the opposition for everything that had gone bad under its own nose.

Meanwhile, the BJP sources felt that the country had entered an era of food shortage and the growth in food production was indeed less than that of population growth. Rapid urbanisation had left no scope for expanding the agricultural production.

While the government is not putting any pressure on value addition in mining industry, Steel Minister Ramvilas Paswan and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath were not stopping export of iron ore.

While the steel industry's profits had shrunk enormously, the country was busy exporting quality ores and importing the finished goods from China, sources said. The ore export from the Bellary mines alone was Rs 2000 crore, the sources added.

In the cement sector, series of acqusitions and mergers had led to impregnable cartelisation leading to sustaining a high artificial prices for a longer time. Both steel and cement prices will have adverse impact on housing and other infrastructural sectors, sources said.

UNI