Congress slams Modi government over price rise, says defeat BJP to rein in inflation

Ahead of the presentation of Budget 2022-23, Congress on Monday, January 31, attacked the BJP-led government over the issue of inflation and urged people to get rid of the ruling party for relief from the price rise.

Launching the 'BJP brought inflation' booklet in Panaji ahead of the Goa Assembly Poll, former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said Narendra Modi government has lost control of the Indian economy.

"The Modi government has played with the sentiments of poor and middle-class families by increasing inflation. People have been harassed. However, the income of his capitalist friends is increasing by thousands of crores day by day.

"The Modi government does not take action against hoarders. This has affected the market. The prices of every commodity are rising. But Modiji is busy showing his advertisements at petrol pumps and in newspapers with the looted money of many taxes," he added.

The senior Congress leader said prices of all the essential items in the kitchen have increased. "Now the price of LPG is around Rs.1000. Edible oil and dal have gone up to Rs.200," Chavan said.

He said that during the Congress rule, the price of crude oil was 108 per barrel in 2014, but the Congress government managed to supply petrol at a lower price. "Now the price of crude oil has come down to 73 per barrel, but the government has not reduced the price of petrol. This proves that the BJP government is robbing the people of the country, "he said.

Chavan further slammed the BJP government over the increase of the railway ticket fare.

“Every day 220 to 250 lakh people travel by Indian Railways. In 2013-14, during the Congress rule, the train fare per passenger was 32 paise per kilometre. During the tenure of the BJP government, in 2020-21, it has gone up by 1.10 per passenger per km, an increase of 343 per cent, ”he said.

He also said the BJP government at the Center would increase the GST on readymade garments from 5 per cent to 12 per cent, which would make it more expensive. "The tax hike will also push up the prices of footwear, food delivery services and cloud kitchens, FMCG products," he said.

"BJP and inflation are dangerous for the country, so they should be defeated in unity," said Chavan.

He further appled to the voters to give Congress a chance in the upcoming elections. "Only Congress can solve the various issues, so BJP govt has to be defeated, I appeal to the people of Goa to elect Congress Govt for next 5 years. We hope that those angry with the government mishandling the economy turn towards Congress and that Goa leads the way is and is an inspiration to the rest of the country to reject the Modi govt."

Chavan also accused the BJP of using central agencies to make MLAs defect. "We know what happened in 2017. The BJP uses central agencies and indulges in blackmail and raids. We appeal to the people of Goa to give us a clear majority and we are confident we will win over 21 seats," he said.