Sriprakash Jaiswal says Government anti-hoarding measures will increase corruption

Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal on Sunday warned that the BJP-led NDA Government's move to bring consummable food items such as onions and potatoes under Essential Commodities Act and empowering officials would further accentuate corrupt practices.

"Now they have included onions and potatoes under Essential Commodities Act, but they have no idea that with this step which increases the power in the hands of officials, they will only allow corruption to jump even further," he said.

He also hoped that the government will take remedial measures in order to stave off the price rise which is pressing hard on common man's pocket.

"We wanted to give them three months after the elections. But the way this government is taking decisions its natural to express concern. Their slogan during elections was to bring an end to price rise. But if the prices keep on rising then the people will obviously express concern. The way diesel and railway fares have been increased is too much and it is expected to rise even further in the future. We still want to give them more time to rectify. Let them present the budget and decrease price rise," Jaiswal added.

Over-month long budget session that starts tomorrow will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government presenting his maiden budget amidst signals that the opposition could raise the issue of recent rail fare hike and soaring price rise over essential commodities and consumable items is expected.

Food inflation rose to 9.5 per cent in May, while the WPI inflation was at a five-month high of 6.01 per cent.

The government is eager to control prices before they spiral out of hand. It had called a meeting of State food ministers to discuss steps to crack down on hoarding and improving availability in the market.

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Similarly, last month, the government hiked the rail passenger fare and freight fares by 14.2 percent and 6.5 percent respectively.