Hon.
Chairperson Sir, I thank you very much for giving
me this opportunity. Sir, the whole nation is worried about the rising prices
of essential commodities including food items and other things. We
want to know what the reason is for all these things and how we can address
this burning issue of the country. Sir, the Government is trying to hide in a
safe zone by saying that it is an after-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic
and also an impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. They even say that it is a global
phenomenon. To a certain extent, the100 COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine
war must have put an impact on this. We are not denying this fact.120 But at the same time, if we make a
meticulous study, we will be able to understand that the Indian140 economy was clearly showing a downward
trend much before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
Russia-Ukraine160
war. What was the management of financial fundamentals of this
Government? Sir, there are certain yardsticks to measure it. They
are, Gross Domestic Product, unemployment rate, inflation rate,
fiscal deficit of the Government, Indian currency’s relative value
against US Dollar, balance200 of
payment, level of poverty, inequality, etc. If we analyse all these things of
this Government in the past, we will understand that the performance
of this Government was a poor show. They have to admit this thing. Of course,240 there was wide publicity and false claims
regarding this. Sir, what exactly is the position now? Kitchens are in turmoil
because of the pressure of inflation. We had lockdown in the country
during the COVID-19 pandemic. We may have280 lockdown in our kitchens also because of
this negative strategy of this Government. Similarly, there is an erosion
of people’s300 purchasing
power. It is diminishing like anything. It goes without saying that the
family budget is collapsing. Moreover, the devaluation320 of the Indian Rupee against the Dollar is
the most worrisome issue. We can understand this very well. Sir, a paradoxical
situation is also coming up where overdependence on import and
diminishing trend in export can be seen. That is360 also a worrisome issue. We can very well
understand that it will lead to imported inflation which would also
be a burden on the people.
Sir,
the GST Council’s decision to impose tariff on the items of mass consumption400 is also terrible. My learned friends were
explaining all these things. It goes without saying that nobody can have any420 kind of adjustment in this. India’s debit
obligation is also very high. It will also have a very big impact on our
economy. This is making a negative marketing sentiment against India. So, if we
analyze all these things, it is amounting to a bad position as far as
India is concerned. Sir, I wish to ask a question from the480 Government
whether it is taking up any measures to arrest these kinds of bad
synergies. I feel, the Government500
is not at all interested in that. What is the priority of the Government?
The Government’s priority does not seem to be of economic reforms. It is
engaged only in political kind of considerations. One of my learned friends from
the other side was saying that under the leadership of the hon.
Prime Minister, this Government has done wonders.560 What is the position of India now? Where
does India stand today? They are all saying that they have done
wonderful things. I would like to quote the report of the United Nations
Development Programme. The Human Development Index600 2020 report was published by the United
Nations Development Programme. As per the report, India stands at 131st
rank out of 189 countries in the world. Now, I want to ask them where
does640 India stand. They
are all making false claims. Similarly, in terms of World Press Rankings,
India slipped to 142nd rank last year out of 180 countries in the world. There
also you can see that India’s position is much lower. In the Global Hunger
Index also, India’s ranking is at 101st position, which is700 much below even the African countries. If
this is the position of India in international indices, then what is
the720 meaning of their
claims? Sir, in order to have progress in a country, a congenial
atmosphere and peace co-existence are the essential ingredients. Unfortunately,
you have spoiled that. There are many things to say. The Government is purposefully
opening the floodgates of trouble. That is why, I am saying that
unless you ensure peace, and do justice to everybody, we will not be able to
attain economic growth in the country.
Sir,
I thank you for permitting me to take800
up the discussion on price rise which is really hitting the common man. It is a
double whammy for the poor and the middle-class people. First, they suffered due
to the pandemic and now they are suffering because of rise840 in prices of essential commodity. A running
inflation and hike in fuel prices are adding fuel to the fire. I hope that this
debate will provide some solution in the form of suggestions. I am
confident that the hon. Finance Minister and the Minister of Consumer
Affairs would take those suggestions in good spirit and act on them to control900 the prices of essential commodities. Sir,
I tried to analyze the main reasons behind the rise in prices of essential
commodities and found that the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel
is the main reason, followed by the Russia–Ukraine war. It is not just the common
man, but even small businesses like restaurants, food joints, hotels, and960 others are suffering. There is
substantial increase in prices of fuel, vegetables, fruits edible oil, LPG etc.980 I
feel, the only solution is to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of GST.
This is my1000
first suggestion to the hon. Finance Minister. Sir, the rate of inflation is above
7 per cent, which is much more than the Reserve Bank of India’s threshold
limit of 6 per cent. For many months now, the Consumer Price Index
has been hovering around 8.5 per cent and the Wholesale Price Index
registered 16 per cent in the month of May. Inflation is nothing but
taxation without legislation. I agree with the hon. Finance Minister
that price1080
rise is a global phenomenon and India cannot be insulated from this. I also
agree, to some extent, when the1100
Finance Minister says that the Russia–Ukraine conflict also disrupted supply
chains and resulted in increase of prices. But at1120 the same time, inflation is primarily
caused by two reasons. One is demand-pull inflation; and the other one is
cost-push inflation. The former can be controlled by reducing money supply or
increasing prices through taxation. But when it comes to the latter, the
measures needed are to increase the supply to meet the demand which
is not happening. With floods in almost every part of the country,
the situation is going to worsen in the coming days.1200 I
would like to know from the hon. Finance Minister the details of fiscal
and monetary measures measures taken by her and by the Reserve Bank of
India to control inflation. This is my second point. My next point is on
containing retail prices. As per the existing system, retail prices are fixed
by market forces and people think1260 that
the Government has a limited role to check spike in an unacceptable price
rise. This is not the entire truth.1280 Look
at the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011. In these Rules, there
is a provision to fix1300
the retail price of essential commodities if the prices go up and now the
retail prices have shot up abnormally. It is not applicable to
just packaged commodities, but also applicable to loose items sold in retail
market. So, I suggest the hon. Finance Minister and also the Minister for
Consumer Affairs to take proactive steps and fix the retail price of essential
commodities for a certain period of time in the interest of the
consumers.
Sir,
the vulnerable sections of the society are suffering due to high prices
of commodities. To control high prices, we have one more mechanism1400 and that is Market Intervention Scheme.
The objective of this Scheme is to intervene and stabilize the prices in
the market and ensure that shortages do not adversely impact the consumers. So,
the House would like to know about the1440 interventions which the Government of
India has made through the Market Intervention Scheme to stabilize the prices
and whether such initiatives give good results or not. The next point
that I wish to make is relating to GST imposed on curd, buttermilk, rice, etc.,
from 18th of this month. You know that GST collections are
breaking1500
records and giving huge revenue. By imposing five per cent GST on these items,
how much extra could you possibly earn? Secondly, look at the message that you
are giving to the poor by imposing GST on these items to garner a few crores
of rupees. So, I appeal to the hon. Finance Minister and to the
Government to remove the GST on the above items which will give a sigh of
relief to the common man.1583
