New Delhi: As inflation surged to double
digits, opposition BJP today demanded that Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh should rein in spiralling prices of essential
commodities and talk less of achieving high GDP growth.
"We have heard enough of achieving high levels of GDP
growth. The Prime Minister should talk more about controlling
inflation," BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters
here.
He said for a common man, the reference point was not 7-8
per cent GDP growth but rise in prices of essential
commodities.
Rudy said the government is led by an "economist Prime
Minister" and the country expected him to take effective steps
to rein in inflation.
Driven by spiralling prices of essential items, inflation
surged to double digits at 10.16 per cent in May, the highest
in the last 19 months.
The essential items which have become expensive include
pulses, sugar and vegetables. The prices of metal, textiles
and plywood have also gone up, as inflation has spread to
non-food items.
As per the provisional data, the previous high of 10.72
per cent was witnessed in the last week of October, 2008.
Singh had said last month said that inflation would
moderate to 5-6 per cent by December.
PTI
