The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) staged a walkout in the Kerala Assembly on June 26 protesting against the Kerala government’s alleged failure in controlling the price of essential commodities, causing immense hardships to the common people.
Though Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil sought to highlight some of the government’s market intervention initiatives through the public distribution system (PDS) and also blamed the Union government for not releasing its share of funds, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan accused him of attempting to evade direct questions on the rise of vegetable and fish prices.
Speaker A.N. Shamseer denied the Opposition leave for an adjournment motion to debate the issue based on the Minister’s reply, leading to the Opposition walkout. UDF MLAs Roji M. John, Mons Joseph, Anoop Jacob, K.K. Rema, P.K. Basheer and Mani C. Kappan had moved the notice for the motion.
Mr. John said that the government is “feigning ignorance” about the price rise of essential commodities over the past month. The price of vegetable kits doubled over this period, while the price of even sardine, the cheapest of fish consumed by the common population, has also shot up. Kerala‘s retail inflation stood higher at 5.47%, compared to the national average of 4.83%. The government has cut the subsidy of essential items in Supplyco and also owes it ₹600 crore in pending grants. The racks at Supplyco are also empty, forcing people to buy commodities at higher prices from the market, he alleged.
Temporary phenomenon: Anil
Mr. Anil said the price rise being witnessed now is “a temporary phenomenon” due to climate change and natural calamities. The retail inflation is higher than Kerala in most other South Indian States. The price of rice in Kerala is lower than all these States, as the government has been spending over ₹900 crore annually to run the PDS, out of which the Union government is providing only ₹96 crore. The Sabari K-Rice launched four months ago by the State government has had sales worth ₹41 crore in this period. Supplyco had sales of ₹5,302 crore last year. A State-level committee is keeping a regular tab on the prices and taking measures to keep it under control, said the Minister.
Mr. Satheesan accused the government of having all the wrong priorities. “The struggling masses are not in your priority. These are the mistakes that you should be addressing,” he said.
