Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday sparked a row by mocking at the middle class.
“The middle class is ready to pay for mineral water and ice cream but can't bear an increase of Re 1 in price of wheat and rice”, Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram’s statement came under severe criticism from opposition BJP. The saffron party asked Chidambaram to immediately tender an apology.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain lashed out at Chidambaram saying that the Home Minister doesn’t not understand the agony of common man.
"Chidambaram and the Congress are far removed from the common man. His comments are a joke on the people in a country where 50-60 crore live below the poverty line," Hussain said.
Another BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy termed Chidambaram’s statement as a bizarre.
"It seems that Chidambaram has inappropriately made a scandalous remark against the middle class and is ridiculing them. BJP would treat this remark as a complete hate statement reflecting the inner contradictions of the government itself," Rudy said.
"The statement stinks of complete insensitivity of Chidambaram and UPA government towards common men. BJP completely deplores the words of Chidambaram”, he said.
“But at the same time nothing better is expected from this government and its ministers," he added.
The BJP leader claimed that while the UPA government has failed to deliver and rein in prices, control inflation or find a way out of the economic mess, the Home Minister has chosen to "torment the hapless common man".
First Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 21:59