From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Congress spokesman Prof. Gourav Vallabh on Friday asserted that the “suit boot ki sarkar” is either benefitting theselves or wholesalers from the drop in wholesale price index, but not the final consumers.
He told a Press conference here that “When WPI numbers for May 2023 for Vegetables, Potato, and Oil Seeds are at -20.12%, -18.71%, and -15.65%, respectively, and when the same product was purchased by farmers for self-consumption CPI on Food and Beverages is +3.29%. So farmers are selling their products at lower prices and buying them for self-consumption at higher prices. Is this the method for doubling farmers’ income?”
The professor further asked why the government is just acting as a mere spectator and keeping silent when wholesalers and the government is benefiting from falling prices of the majority of essential commodities and final consumers are not getting any benefit?
When on May 23, WPI numbers for Crude Petroleum and LPG had a contraction of -27.01% and -24.35%, respectively, why in retail market prices of LPG, Petrol, and Diesel not reduced and the Government enjoyed the entire benefit of this contraction, he underlined.
“We are today not interested in whegther or not to bring petrol and diesel under the amit of GST, we are not going into the Tu-Tu, Main-Main debate,” he added.
He said it is a misfortune for the farmers that his crops are selling cheap, but he has to buythem at higher price. It means consumer price index positive but WPI neative. Is this the way of doubling farmers’ income or a method to reduce the farmer’s income to half!
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