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Allies mount pressure on Congress

	April 07, 2008

Apart from the opposition BJP and the Left parties which support the UPA from outside, the Congress has come under fire from two of its key allies - Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s DMK - on various issues. Even Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who heads the Rashtriya Janata Dal, has raised the issue of price rise.



Observers say that the war of words between the UPA consti¬tuents over price rise and a water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, is not a good sign for the alliance when elections are to be held to seven State Assemblies this year and to the Lok Sabha early next year. The first of the state Assembly elections will be in Karnataka which goes to the polls next month.



The rate of inflation was reported last week to have gone up to 7 per cent, the highest in three years’ time. The Government has taken some steps to tackle supply side concerns by lowering customs and excise duties on key commodities. But this has not been adequate so far, or at least the impact of the government measures is yet to be registered.





War of words on price rise



The nation is witnessing a war of words between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) whose president is Agriculture Minister in the Manmohan Singh Government, over who is to blame for the rising prices of foodgrains and other commod¬ities. The Congress reportedly tried to deflect the blame on Sharad Pawar and the State Governments for inadequate measures to curb hoarding.



But the NCP is breathing fire. “The Congress party has shown neither generosity nor magnanimity towards its allies. Instead of attacking the Opposition, they are undermining their allies,” party General Secretary DP Tripathi told reporters.



The Congress said that it had never singled out any individ¬ual for the price-rise that would be controlled soon. But the sting in the tail became visible when it advised the NCP to look within for its actions in Meghalaya and Nagaland where it shares power with non-Congress entities, including the BJP.





The NCP said Pawar did his best to check the upward trend in prices. “States would have to streamline their public distribu¬tion systems and check hoarding. The central ministry has formu¬lated policies for controlling prices but the states have to implement them,” Tripathi said.



Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said : “It is the NCP which has to decide its attitude towards the UPA. It cannot run with hares while hunting with hounds.”



The NCP accused the Congress of not following the coalition spirit, but spoke positively about the government. “Prime Min¬ister Manmohan Singh was working in a democratic manner, but the UPA was not. Why are allies not called for regular consultations?” Tripathi asked.



On his party’s stake in a third front, he said, “NCP is interested in a third front which is formed on the basis of policies and not jut an alliance of parties. But whenever there is a situation of communal forces coming to power, we will stand by the secular forces,” he said.



“A third front led by the CPI(M) will be a genuine front,” he said in reply to a specific question even while reiterating his party’s commitment to its tie up with the Congress.





NCP protests too much : Congress



The NCP does protest too much,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said on Friday, April 4. Discarding the NCP charges of non-cooperation and poaching, Congress said that the reason the two parties could not make an alliance in Meghalaya and Arun¬achal Pradesh was the absence of a pre-poll tie up. Pointing to the NCP tie up with the BJP in Meghalaya, Singhvi said, “What was the compulsion for them to align with the non-secular forces ?”





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Blame-game at Cabinet Committee meeting



Reports say that the blame-game on who is responsible for the price rise was in full flow at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Prices held recently. Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav reportedly supported the demand for a ban on futures trad¬ing in key agricultural commodities. This was in line with the CPI(M) demand at the party congress in Coimbatore. Observers recall that Lalu Prasad Yadav had recently met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to convey that the UPA may have to pay a huge polit¬ical cost if the price rise was not checked.



Observers recall that the Railways Minister recently direct¬ed his Ministry to hike freight on export-oriented iron ore by 40 per cent. At the CCP meeting, he reportedly talked about disciplining the iron ore and steel industry to check prices.



Reports say the last meeting of the CCP saw senior ministers in the government indulging in a blame game. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath came close to placing the blame at his colleague Sharad Pawar’s doorsteps by questioning the delay in importing grain to boost supply. All this come at a time when the govern¬ment is facing flak over its failure to take timely steps to address the supply-demand mismatch. Even the die-hard supporters of the government see it as a failure of governance.



There are reports that inflationary pressures will persist for the next few months. This will be bad news as the Congress has to face a crucial electoral battle in the next 45 days.



The anxiety in the Left camp and the proactive approach of Lalu Yadav, observers say, suggest that allies of the Congress fear the growing disaffection for the Congress hurting their image. The Congress has only itself to blame as persons in charge of the management of the economy just did not act in time. The stagnation in domestic grain prices, shortage of grain globally and high cost of imported crude and edible oils were not issues that surfaced in a day.



The national alarm and unease in the UPA over the issue is certain to force the Congress to demand more measures for tack¬ling inflation. A loss for the party in Karnataka is certain to be seen as a verdict against the performance of the Centre.





Govt has acted too late : BJP, Left



Both the BJP and the Left have described the steps taken by the Centre to bring down prices as “inadequate”.



The Government has done “too little, too late” and failed to take a holistic view of the price situation, BJP spokesman Pra¬kash Javadekar said, adding that the measures are ad hoc and half hearted and will not provide relief to the aam admi.



Blaming global factors for price rise is an act of despera¬tion on the part of the Congress, to cover up its own economic mismanagement of the country, Javadekar alleged. He added, that the recent spurt in prices in India was evidently faster than any global price warm up. The BJP has announced plans of anti-price rise rallies, in all state capitals beginning today, April 7.



On the import duty cuts on edible oil, CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat asked : “What is the guarantee these will be passed on to the consumer.” For its part, the Congress blamed the situation on the state governments, alleging they had failed to act against boarders and blackmarketeers, and calling for an immediate crackdown on them.







According to Congress leader Digvijay Singh, “There is no shortage of wheat, pulses, edible oil or sugar. Why are prices then going up ?” It has to be due to hoarding and because the state governments have not ordered stock restrictions.” He claimed that inflation was a global phenomenon.



The CPI too announced countrywide campaign plans from April 17. In a statement, it said it was not enough to reduce customs duty on a few items and impose a curb on the export of rice.



The All India Forward Bloc’s Debabrata Biswas said that while people were suffering from the unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities, the government was describing it as an international phenomenon. This is a cruel joke, he said.



The Janata Dal (United), a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has sought the resignation of the Manmohan Singh Government for its failure to check prices of essential commodities. JDU president Sharad Yadav said that his party will hold a massive demonstration in New Delhi on April 8 to protest against the price rise.