New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram says the Government is doing all it can to contain inflation but the Left parties are not impressed.
"Inflation is like tax on the poor, the peasants and the unorganised groups," CPI leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja were quoted by UNI as saying.
Concerned over inflation breaching 6.5 per cent, on Saturday Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the Government is determined to fight the surging prices and fiscal and monetary measures were being taken.
"Many steps are being taken on the fiscal side. The RBI is also taking many steps to see that the monetary situation is under control," Chidambaram said.
He, however, said, "On supply side there was no short term answer, unless the supply increases, we had sugar prices rising but it has subsided after the supply side situation improved."
Its not only the rising price which is worrying the Left parties - they are also targeting the Government on the disinvestment issues saying that they were not at all consulted on this.
However, Finance Minister P Chidambaram claimed that the Government had consulted the Left parties on disinvesting the power PSUs.
Stung by the Congress's claim, the CPI, CPI-M and Forward Bloc alleged that it was "a plain lie and added that consultations did not amount to consent."
CPI leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja said," In the absence of consensus if the Government takes any decision unilaterally the supporting parties have the right to differ and express their disapproval."
But the Congress has contended that it was not incumbent upon the government to take the Left's consent on all policy issues.
"The requirement is of consolations and not consensus," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Saturday.
D Raja found ‘disconnection’ between Singhvi and Chidambaram’s contradictory statements. Raja said while Singhvi asserted that there was no need for Left consensus on all policy matters, the Finance Minister claimed that the Left had been consulted on disinvesting power PSUs.
Asserting that the Government did not constitute of the Congress alone, Bardhan said the ruling party had no veto power or right to ignore the concerns of the Left.
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