Haridwar, Jul 8: Criticising the Centre for its “failure” to check inflation, the BJP today claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had “lost his grip” on the economy and accused him of “lying” on the issue of hike in prices of petroleum products.
“The Congress led government has increased the prices of petrol seven times in the past 13 months and its price has gone upto Rs 68 per litre.The prices of diesel, kerosene oil and cooking gas have also been increased putting a huge burden on the common people,” senior leader Rajnath Singh told a public rally at Haridwar, virtually kickstarting the BJP's election campaign in Uttarakhand where assembly polls are due early next year.
“However, the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi are lying to the people by saying that it had to be done due to increase in prices of crude oil in international market,” said the former BJP president who has recently been appointed as the election incharge of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Singh pointed out that the prices of petrol in neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka are only Rs 47 per litre and “they have successfully managed to control the prices of petroleum products”.
Claiming that the “economist” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has “lost his grip over the economy of the country, the BJP leader said the Centre has failed completely to check the rate of inflation and the common man is finding it difficult to manage his family budget.
“The Congress will have to give an answer to the people of the country as to why the inflation always goes up when they are in power,” the BJP leader said. PTI
