Mumbai, May 15 (PTI) The Maharashtra Congress on Friday accused the BJP-led Central government of “pushing the country into an inflation crisis” by delaying corrective measures and focusing solely on winning elections.
Congress legislative party leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that despite the impact of the war in West Asia since February, the Centre prioritised its poll campaigns in various states, and noted that prices of fuel and essentials rose sharply once the elections concluded.
Wadettiwar, in a statement, pointed out that the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had warned the Central government at that time about the looming threat of rising prices.
However, the Centre chose not to take timely action and instead focused solely on winning elections, misleading the people for nearly three months, he alleged.
“Now that the elections are over, the Narendra Modi government has imposed an inflation crisis on the country,” he claimed, noting that prices of compressed natural gas (CNG), commercial LPG cylinders, petrol, diesel, milk and other essential commodities have risen sharply.
Wadettiwar alleged that in its determination to secure electoral victories, the Modi government has “pushed the entire nation into a deep inflationary crisis”.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that the government had deferred fuel price hikes to avoid electoral backlash in five state assembly elections and alleged that India’s energy decisions were being influenced by pressure from the United States.
On the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), Sapkal claimed that the medical entrance examination paper had leaked 71 times in the last seven years.
“The entire system, including the NEET examination process, has become corrupt. This is a serious issue, but the prime minister is ignoring it,” he said.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by Rs 3 per litre each on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses of fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices.
Amid the crisis in West Asia, the prime minister recently suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of electric vehicles, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange. PTI MR ARU
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