Inflation fear weighs on Modi govt; plan afoot to counter Opposition riding price rise
Photo credit X @ChouhanShivraj
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, August 28: Top officials in key ministries with stakes in the management of the prices of the essential commodities are bracing up an action plan to counter claims of sharp appreciation of the prices of food items in particular. Several meetings have taken place in a few ministries with the common theme that the rise in the prices of food items is a challenge taking ominous form.
Even while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains dismissive of the price rise issue, the flurry of meetings in the ministries of the Central government suggests that the concern is noted at the highest level in the council of ministers. “We have enough stocks of rice to meet the demands of the remaining months in the current fiscal. In fact, the stocks with us and the rice millers are more than double of the requirement. Yet, the prices are appreciating, and there are suggestions that the government needs to send out strong message to the market of more than adequate quantity being available in the country,” said a top ranking official.
The move is afoot for the ministries to come upfront on the social media platforms to share actual data of stocks on a daily basis to counter any “misgivings in the market”. “We need to counter the impression being fanned in some quarters that the stocks of rice are depleting with us. The fact is on the on the contrary. We will be sharing the daily updates soon on social media platforms so that the people are assured, as well as hoarders don’t fish in the troubles waters,” added the official.
Sources in the government said that there is an admission that the hoarders mar begin stocking in the run up to the Assembly election in five states to make quick bucks by artificially creating shortages. “The government is taking proactive measures including imposition of duty and other steps to discourage export of non-basmati rice varieties. These are being taken as part of an action plan to deny any scope to the hoarder to inflate the prices,” said the official.
It may be noted that the food inflation climbed to over 11 per cent with prices of pulses and rice varieties sharply rising. The government maintains that the wheat stock is also adequate. Five states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram – are heading for Assembly elections later this year.
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