Rise in prices of essential commodities at its worst since independence: BJP

Gandhinagar, Jan.27 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday described the rise in prices of essential commodities at its worst since independence.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Gandhinagar, senior BJP leader Lal Krishan Advani said: "Since the time India has attained independence, there has never been a situation when Dal (pulses) cost rupees 100 per kilogram. Normally, if people had meals outside, they just worried about paying up for chapattis (bread) as the Dal could be procured for a nominal price. But today the situation has worsened so much that not just the poor but the middle class, which is generally addressed as the 'common man', is not able to have a good meal," Advani said.

The wholesale price index rose 7.3 percent in December from a year earlier, its highest since November 2008 and accelerating from a 4.8 percent gain in November.

The rise was driven by near 20 percent jump in food prices, which rose on weak monsoon rains and flooding in parts of the country, but inflation in manufacturing products picked up to 5.2 percent from 4 percent in November, a sign that inflationary pressures were spreading to other sectors of the economy. (ANI)