Congress slams govt. over inflation, demands to remove GST from essential items

NEW DELHI — The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the BJP-led Central government over inflation and unemployment, saying the prices of the essential commodities like the vegetables prices have soared in last few days, and demanded to remove GST from essential items and provide financial assistance to the poor.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “The prices of vegetables are soaring in the country as lemon, green chillies and ginger are being sold for INR 400 per kg, while coriander for INR 200 per kg, tomatoes for INR 160 per kg and garlic for INR 130 per kg.

“All these can be gifted during the wedding season,” she said, adding that “we had read and heard about Super Man and Spider Man and now we have a ‘Mehangai Man’ in India and his name is (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi.”

Shrinate, who is also Congress chairperson of social media and digital platforms said, “The unemployment data that came yesterday pointed out that the in the last two years, it is at the highest.

“And due to unemployment, the inflation has broken the back of the families in the country. In the last few months the rates of tomatoes, onion, potatoes, rice, wheat, pulses have skyrocketed,” she said.

She said: “Tomatoes which a month earlier used to be sold for INR 10-15 per kg, are now being sold at INR 130 to 160 per kg. Similar is the case with other vegetables.”

She warned that in the coming days, the prices of vegetables will increase. “The prices will increase not due to the monsoon or rains, but due to the cost of transportation,” she said.

“The prices of pulses have increased in last few months and have witnessed the rise of INR 30-50 per kg. Even the prices of rice has increased by INR 3 to 5 per kg, and the government is not ready to listen to the pain of the people,” she said.

Shrinate also said that the data of the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry itself states that prices of 10 out of nine items have increased in last one month, which includes rice, wheat, sugar, salt, milk, tea, potato, onion, tomato.

“The government can give relief to the people of the country by lowering the excise duty on the essential items. But the Mehangai Man is unfazed by all these issues,” she said.

“We demand the government to take steps to regularise the prices of essential items. To control the prices of vegetables, the government should reduce the prices of diesel. She also demanded the government to reduce the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG as it is buying crude oil at lower rates, and remove GST from items like wheat flour, curd and other essential items, and provide some relief to poor people by providing them financial assistance.”