JAMMU: Cornered by the opposition parties over the issue of price rise of food items, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday tried to douse the flames by claiming NDA government has managed to control price rise in an effective manner.
“Barring prices of perishable/seasonal vegetables and pulses, we are able to control the skyrocketing prices of other essential commodities”, Sitharaman told reporters here after addressing a meeting of party workers, marking Vikas Parv here at KK Resorts.
Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters, the Commerce Minister also expressed hope that GST Bill would soon see light of the day.
Supporting Finance Minister Arun Jailtey, she said Jaitley ji is speaking to leaders of different political parties and he has assured us GST Bill would be reality soon.
Defending NDA Government over the issue of tackling price rise in the country, Nirmala Sitharaman said, “During UPA’s time inflation was above 10 per cent and under NDA we have brought it down to 5 per cent and kept it under control for the past two years”.
She said the government is taking adequate measures to control prices of seasonal vegetables. She said even due to less production of pulses the prices have shot up. The Union Government is closely monitoring the situation and taking necessary measures to address the issue to ensure common masses do not feel the pinch.
She, however, avoided any comment on the statement of the BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.