Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The UPA government on Wednesday rubbished charges leveled by the main opposition BJP that it lacks seriousness in taming rising prices and inflation, while maintaining that it is a global phenomenon and affects all leading economies.
Responding to the debate on price rise, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, “All leading economies are battling high inflation. It is a global phenomenon. India has its own identity but the decisions taken by the Western countries cannot be imposed on us. However, it is true that the global development impacts India. I would like to assure that the government is committed to improving the situation even if it takes adopting certain strict measures.”
Presenting the government’s view point on the subject, Khurshid said, “All major economies including the UK today face this problem. As a matter of fact, the policy makers in the UK have targeted to contain the inflation at 2% but it is at 4% at the moment.
Calling for concerted efforts in controlling spiraling prices, Khurshid said, “We have high hopes that this session will give tangible answers to the problem of price rise and inflation.”
Asking the lawmakers to understand the realities of globalised economy, the Law Minister said, “The government has come out with several schemes to fight rising inflation. There is growth in all sectors of economy but we need to take adequate food stock for difficult times.”
“Government is now releasing excess food stock through public welfare schemes for the BPL families, he added.
Quashing BJP’s charges that the government has been passing the buck on controlling inflation on the RBI, Khurshid said, “We should not follow the observations and recommendations made by various surveys.”
“Growth is inevitable for overall prosperity of the nation but for that a high growth rate is required, We can’t accept growth at just any rates, “he added.
However, he concluded by saying efforts are being taken to bring down inflation in two months as suggested by the Opposition.
First Published: Wednesday, August 03, 2011, 14:48