Comments of BJP National President
Shri Rajnath Singh in a Press Conference
in Raipur, Chattisgarh

Bharatiya Janata Party President Shri Rajnath Singh today said that the galloping inflation and rise in the prices of food items should be seen in the context of food security.

If food security exists, as the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has pointed out, "when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life," then what is the UPA government doing in this regard, Shri Singh queried at a press conference here. Shri Singh pointed out that food security is about the (timely) availability, (easy) accessibility and (widespread) affordability of foodstuff required to lead a healthy life. Globally there is enough food produced to meet the requirements of the world's population. Therefore, even if there is a shortfall in domestic production in any particular year, it is for the Government to meet the shortfall through imports and make it available to the public at appropriate prices.

Quoting Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen that "there is no such thing as an apolitical food problem," he argued that the current problem of price rise is of the UPA government's own making. Way back in December 2005, the Government had information that there would be a shortfall in agricultural production, yet for three full months it did not act. When the Government finally did wake up to the impending crisis in March 2006, it meant that the first shipments would not arrive before June of that year.

Therefore the Government's oft-used reasoning that economic growth is leading to inflation is baseless, Shri Singh said. He also cautioned the Government against adopting growth-reduction strategies as a means to counter inflation. He pointed out that during the NDA rule there was straight-line economic growth, yet prices remained under control.

Shri Singh further argued that the Government compounded the problem of shortfall in agricultural production by presenting an inflationary budget.

Shri Singh said that he had wanted the Government to issue a White Paper in this regard and had written to the Prime Minister in this regard, but the Government has remained unresponsive.

Shri Singh questioned the UPA Government's commitment to the Aam Aadmi and to reducing poverty, and pointed out that the Central Survey Organisation (CSO) has certified that during the NDA Government poverty had reduced by 5%.

Shri Singh also referred to the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, and the demand of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for the reduction of troops in the Valley. He pointed out that while the Government has been posturing that there would be no troop reduction, private sources indicate otherwise. He claimed that the position in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts continue to be critical. The BJP demands, Shri Singh said, that unless there is a reduction in terror on Indian soil there should be no reduction in troops. He lamented the fact that the Government has no action plan on Kashmir.

In fact the Government has no commitment to control terror, he said. All countries facing terrorism have strong anti-terror laws. Britain is currently planning to resurrect a 600-year old treason law. In such a scenario the withdrawal of POTA Act without formulating alternate legislation is nothing but an example of the UPA Government's appeasement policy. He said that one could debate on how successful was the NDA Government in containing terror, but no one could question its intentions.