NEW DELHI: “Rise from inertia”…. “Worst form of taxation for the poor is price-rise”…. “If economy growth means inflation, we don’t want it.” These were some lessons given by BJP senior leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha to economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, when he told the government that if it could not contain prices, it must “Go, for God’s sake”
“As Oliver Cromwell told a British PM in his time ‘Go, for God’s sake. In the name of God, Go, Go’, this House will tell you the same and will not tolerate” it if rising prices are not checked, Sinha said, referring to the famous words of the English statesman to Parliament in 1653.
Targeting the Prime Minister, Sinha, who initiated the debate in the Lok Sabha on price rise, quoted from his experience when he warned the government of electoral loss if it did not heed the pulse of the people. Recalling his defeat from Hazaribagh last time, Sinha said that while campaigning in his constituency, he was asked by a lady voter if he knew the cost of kerosene. His ignorance lost him the election, he said. “You will also face the same plight,” he remarked, and when someone pointed out that Manmohan Singh does not contest elections, corrected himself.
“Those who don’t contest are happy,” he quipped.
The debate concluded on Wednesday and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will respond on Thursday. The resolution under Rule 184 was consensual though Gurudas Dasgupta of CPI moved an amendment.
Tearing apart the PM’s claims of “inclusive growth”, Sinha said that in the past three years people have spent Rs six lakh crore more due to inflation. Quoting from the Asian Development Bank Report, he said five crore people have fallen below the poverty line due to inflation.
People spend 67 per cent of income on food, Sinha said, exclaiming that when the poor ask what they would eat, he can’t tell them to savour 8 per cent growth.
