Accelerating Inflation in Food Articles

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

Accelerating Inflation in Food Articles

The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) expresses its deep concern at the galloping food price inflation (WPI), which crossed 19% in the week ending 28^th November. The inflation rate stood at 15.5% in mid-November and 13.3% at the end of October. It is clear that there is accelerating inflation in food articles with the prices of vegetables (particularly potatoes and onions), pulses and cereals witnessing the steepest climb. Over 50 paisa in every rupee spent by an average Indian per day is spent on food and over 60% of India’s population spends less than Rs. 20 per head per day. The intense suffering of the masses in the face of galloping food prices cannot be overemphasized.

India is the only major developing economy in the world where prices are rising. In the backdrop of the global recession, food and fuel prices have been falling across all countries. This exposes the failure and callousness of the Congress led Government.

The galloping food prices are primarily being caused by the corporates and big traders, who are utilising shortages for hoarding and reckless profiteering. The Government has lost control over food prices due to the pursuit of free market policies. The CPI (M) demands that the UPA Government take the following immediate steps in order to reign in food price inflation:

• The Government, in coordination with the State Governments, must launch a countrywide crackdown against hoarding and black-marketing. All private traders of food articles must disclose their stocks and release surplus stocks.
• Futures trading in all food articles must be immediately banned.
• The Government must release cereal stocks through the PDS by increasing the rice and wheat quotas for the States. The Food Security legislation should be tabled without any further delay.
• The Government must supply sugar, pulses and edible oils through PDS outlets at cheap rates.

The CPI (M) will intensify the struggle against price rise till the UPA Government initiates these steps in the coming days.

Statehood no solution to development: Yechury

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday criticised the Centre’s move on Telangana, stating the criterion of language as the basis for reorganisation of States should not be diluted.

Creation of a separate State was not a solution to address the problem of development, CPI(M) Parliamentary Party leader Sitaram Yechury told a press conference here. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were cases in point.

What was required was planning and budgetary support. Development had to be worked out and resources made available for it.

Criticising the Congress’ handling of the Telangana issue, Mr. Yechury said the statehood demand was over four decades old and most of the time it was that party which held power both in Andhra Pradesh and at the Centre.

The creation of smaller States would also affect the federal structure. For, with fewer MPs, such States would make less impact. When all 42 MPs from Andhra Pradesh stood up as a group in the Lok Sabha, they would get greater attention, while the impact would get diluted when there is a division, the CPI(M) leader pointed out.

Conceding a separate Telangana would give rise to similar demands from other regions, be it Harit Pradesh, Gorkhaland or Vidarbha.

(The Hindu)

Demonstration over rising prices in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: Holding UPA government policies responsible for incessant rise in prices of essential commodities, CPI(M) today held a protest demonstration in the capital where it was demanded to bring out food items from futures contracts in the commodity market and make PDS access for everybody.

Addressing a rally after culmination of a protest march through the Lower Bazar, Nilotpal Basu, said that price rise because of the central government policies had reached alarming proportions. “Food was getting out of reach of the poorest of the poor and nutrition levels of many others were falling drastically,” said Basu. He said that a NSSO sample survey showed that more than 80 crore people were living on a Rs 20 day wage.

He said that a major reason for the price rise was the central government policy to allow futures contracts trading of essential food items.

Rakesh Singha state secretary CPI(M) made a connect between price rise and squeezing of the Public distribution system. “The PDS is being targeted so that the common people are deprived of this opportunity and are forced to fall to the open market ration,” he said. Three successive crop failures resulting in a loss of nearly Rs 1200 crore had left the people very vulnerable and neither the state nor the central government were providing relief, he added.

Ridiculing the state governments sops of declaring 3 extra holidays for women in the state on Bhaiya Dooj, Karva Chauth and Raksha Bandhan, Falma Chauhan state committee member, said “extra holidays do not compensate for access to lesser food on the table which was hurting women the most.”

She further said that the state government had ruined the health services in the state as the Rogi Kalyan Samitis had become instruments for fleecing poor patients. “It is actually is a blatant step towards privatizing healthcare,” she remarked.

(Courtesy : Myhimachal. com)