Congress party's leader, Randeep Surjewala, targeted the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, citing the 12th anniversary of the government in power as an opportunity for him to point out some major issues in their performance during the last decade.
In a comprehensive critique released via social media, Surjewala made it clear that even though the government was busy embellishing its economic performance on paper, for the common man, there was nothing but a very difficult economic scenario, owing to the steep rise in the prices of fuel, gas, and essentials. He dismissed the government's celebrated Amrit Kaal narrative as 12 years of empty advertising, asserting that rampant inflation has effectively snatched food away from the tables of both poor and middle-class households. He added that the continuous spike in fuel and energy costs has left household budgets completely scorched. Pointing to recent media reports detailing the surging costs of basic groceries, the Congress lawmaker described the market statistics as terrifying.
He outlined a series of dramatic price hikes over recent months to illustrate the burden placed on ordinary families, noting that the price of arhar dal had climbed steeply from тВ╣110 to over тВ╣165 per kilogram, whilst mustard oil has jumped from тВ╣150 to тВ╣200 per litre. Furthermore, he noted that staple items like rice and flour have experienced similar surges, with rice increasing from тВ╣50 to тВ╣75 per kilogram and flour now reaching тВ╣40 per kilogram. This pressure has been heavily compounded by fuel inflation, with petrol hitting тВ╣105 per litre and domestic gas cylinders priced at тВ╣942, a combination he argued is breaking the back of the common man.
Surjewala strongly questioned the government’s broader economic management, drawing attention to the practical difficulties encountered by homemakers. He observed that despite working with the same fixed monthly budget that previously covered a family's entire grocery needs, women are now being forced to purchase significantly smaller quantities of everyday items like pulses, oil, and sugar.
Terming the situation a double blow from the administration's double-engine governance model, Surjewala highlighted that rising fuel costs have made public and freight transportation 15 per cent more expensive. He stated that average families are being caught in a painful squeeze between funding their children's education and coping with exorbitant grocery bills. In a final challenge to the ruling establishment, the MP questioned the validity of hollow slogans celebrating development when ordinary citizens struggle to afford basic milk and pulses for their children, calling into serious question the central government's stewardship of the national economy.
Also read: Modi becomes India's longest-serving PM; NDA to felicitate
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