Wary of the political fallout of unrelenting inflationary pressure, the Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) is scheduled to meet here on Tuesday to discuss steps to rein in prices of food items, particularly sugar, which has touched the Rs 45 per kg ceiling since the beginning of the year.
The unrelenting rise in sugar prices, as also that of other food commodities, has exposed the Congress-led UPA government to a searing attack from friends and foes alike. Railways minister Mamata Banerjee is the latest political figure to join the growing chorus of voices against the inflationary pressure, and the Union government’s failure to reverse the trend.
While speaking to newspersons in Kolkata on Sunday, the Trinamool Congress leader, for the second consecutive day, turned her ire at the Manmohan Singh government, saying that it cannot deny responsibility for the rise in prices of essential commodities
, and asked the prime minister to convene an all-party meeting, as well as a conclave of chief ministers to resolve the issue — a demand which was endorsed in Patna on Monday by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
Faced with a vicious all-round attack for its failure of control prices of food items, especially sugar, the Centre on Monday blamed the UP government for the commodity’s high retail prices, but refused to predict its future trend. On a day in which the main Opposition party, the BJP, renewed its assault on the UPA government for making life miserable for the poor and the salaried classes, the latter took refuge behind the states’ “inability’’ to take adequate precautionary measures.
Its singled out the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh for the skyrocketing prices of sugar. The state government, the Centre insisted, had imposed a ban on the processing of imported raw sugar since a farmers' protest over cane prices in November last, leading to about eight lakh tonnes of raw sugar lying idle at various ports.
“Imported raw sugar has been lying at Kandla port for more than two months and the UP government is not allowing millers to process,’’ union agriculture and food minister Sharad Pawar said here on Monday. The unrelenting north-ward climb of sugar prices has sent alarm bells ringing in various households, sending their budgetary calculations in a tailspin. It is presently selling at Rs 45 per kg in retail markets in the Capital, which is more than double the price-level obtaining a year ago. Concerned over the political fallout of its spiralling prices, the Manmohan Singh government, in an attempt to reverse the trend, is contemplating extending the import window of white sugar by nine months till Dec.
“When there is insufficient availability in the country, in such a situation, if they (millers) had been allowed to process, an additional 2.5 lakh tonnes would have become available per month and this would have brought down prices,’’ Mr Pawar said. Observing that he had already written to the UP government urging it to lift the ban on raw sugar processing, the Union food minister said: “We have not been able to convince them and will try to request at highest level. We will resolve the UP problem with CCP.’’
source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Centre-blames-UP-govt-for-high-sugar-prices/articleshow/5435169.cms
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