Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 27: Former minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla has alleged that inflation has caused massive impact on the common man and disturbed the budget of women managing the house hold expenditure.
Addressing a large number of women members of Gandhi Nagar constituency here today, Bhalla said soaring prices of essential commodities, vegetables, pulses and other items have become point of worry for a common man. The BJP leadership had made tall claims of bringing inflation under control but even after three years in power they have instead, further added to the woes of the general public.
He said inflation has not hit only buyers but sellers too. They keep things in stock but customers purchase them in small amount, sometimes a lot of edibles get stale in the shop. Many families have reduced the quantity of items that they purchased. Even some families start to buy cheaper brands. For example, instead (per month) of buying Basmati, they have started purchasing rice of some lower quality. Same is the condition of flour, pulses and oils.
Former minister further said that the cost of essential commodities, cost of construction or buying a house, the cost of education, house rent, transportation expenses to commute to school, work and social outings, the cost of essential commodities have gone up during the past three years or so. If the trend continues for a long time, people have to take loan to run their families, he added.
Bhalla said the international prices of crude oil had fallen sharply from an annual average of $105 per barrel in 2013-14 to $46 per barrel in 2015-16 and 2016-17, the Centre had hiked Excise duty on petrol and diesel over nine times. He further said that at the time when GST had been introduced to rationalise indirect taxes in the country, it was indeed hypocritical to keep petro-products outside the GST ambit.
He demanded that the Government should immediately withdraw the massive Excise duty imposed on diesel and petrol and keep the LPG away from the purview of the new tax regime to provide relief to the common man against the spiraling prices of gas and fuel. He said the common man is finding it difficult to sustain himself and there is a lot of resentment against the Central Government.
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