STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Former Minister J&K and Senior Congress leader Yogesh Sawhney on Thursday 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. 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% 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.
Because if the fuel prices are high, it automatically increases risk of rising prices for other commodities, he said.
Further launching an attack on the Modi government, Sawhney stated that people have lost their businesses and jobs.
We should provide relief to them not in the form of bogus welfare schemes but actual relief measures which will benefit the common man in the ground realities.
The government cannot justify price hike and leave people at the mercy of inflation, it is duty-bound to curb this incessant inflation and help people to get through the tough times. The impact of fuel price rise on Indian households is immense.
Their monthly budgets are destroyed due to the new prices, and we have to remember, that most of the households are already struggling in coping with pandemic and lockdown – induced losses. This government’s policies are burning a deep hole in the pockets of the common man and it will take a long time for them to fix. People are frustrated and need immediate relief. But all pleas for relief are falling on deaf ears of the government.
This is why the Congress has planned an elaborate programme to protest against the hike in fuel prices and inflationary pressure on essential commodities from July 7 to 17.
He added that the government must immediately take steps to control inflation so that prices of essential commodities come down to reasonable and affordable prices. Secondly, 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.