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Electoral victories for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have become a licence for the government to loot the people, the Congress said on Saturday, pointing to price hikes in various commodities that have become a “daily event” now.
“The Modi government’s mantra now is electoral victory is a licence to loot,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a media briefing. “The diktat of the cruel, cumbersome and back breaking price rise imposed by the Modi government with effect from April 1 has shattered the budget of every household in India.”
The price hikes are the biggest challenge facing the people in the country.
Surjewala’s remarks come on a day when different parts of the country celebrate new year. The Congress leader said the Centre’s gift to all these regions is the financial burdenbecause of the price hikes
Citing that the prices of diammonium phosphate, and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers were hiked by ₹150 and ₹110 per bag, respectively, Surjewala accused the government of “seeking revenge against India’s annadatas for the kisan aandolan,” referring to the recent farmers’ protests.
In the past eight years of BJP rule, the commercial LPG cylinder has seen a massive price hike of ₹845, he said.
“The Modi government has not even spared patients. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has announced a hike of 10.76% in prices of around 800 essential drugs from April 1. Common medicines like paracetamol, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole and others used for Covid-19 care, heart disease, high blood pressure, anaemia, skin disease, minerals, vitamins will all go up. As per industry estimates, it will burden the ordinary consumer by ₹10,000 crore,” Surjewala said.
Citing that housing prices and construction costs have gone up 15% in April due to the rising cost of materials such as steel, cement, bricks, copper, sanitary fittings, wood, Surjwala said that buying a house had become a mirage for the salaried class.
The Congress spokesperson also talked about the abolishment of tax loan deductions, tax on provident fund account, hike in the fine for not linking Aadhaar to PAN and a hike in the prices of TVs, ACs, refrigerators, LEDs and mobile phones.
“There is not a single sphere of a citizen’s life, where prices have not increased,” he said.
The current inflation rate is 6.07% and the government has managed the post-Covid inflation rates successfully, BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said.
“If you look into the average tax rates during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) times, it was around 25-30%. At present, it has been reduced to 11.6%. So, the corporate tax, and indirect tax have been reduced but still, the collection is more. So, if the government has to work for the welfare of the people, recovery of the economy, fiscal stimulus post Covid, all these things require resources. The government’s efforts towards these areas are showing in the fast recovery of our economy,” he added.
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