Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav has blamed the current inflation on the government's “faulty policies” and said the decision to increase the prices of petroleum products would worsen the situation.
The party is particularly angry that even kerosene, used by the poorest as a cooking fuel, has not been spared — it is now expected to cost Rs. 3 more a litre. And the increase in diesel price is bound to affect the prices of cereals, sugar, edible oils and vegetables.
Far from removing poverty, the party said, the United Progressive Alliance government is pushing the poor further down into the abyss of hunger.
Mr. Yadav pointed to the talk of an increase in milk prices and said this would affect the nutrition of children of the most vulnerable sections. The government must immediately take remedial measures, which it repeatedly promised to take, but did not. While huge sums of money were being spent on the Commonwealth Games, the families of workers toiling to beautify the city and build the facilities were not able to eat two square meals a day, he said.
