The Congress on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of eroding people's savings through rising inflation, drawing a parallel with its allegations of “vote chori” and saying the Prime Minister should now pack his bags and leave.
Jairam Ramesh, the party's general secretary in charge of communications, said public anger over alleged electoral irregularities was mounting even as inflation continued to climb. He accused Modi of maintaining silence, likening him to a “mauni baba”.
Food inflation accelerated to 7.74 per cent in September, up from 5.97 per cent in August, according to data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
"Vote Theft is the Truth Back-Breaking Inflation is the Reality Headlines report that inflation reached 5.54% in September, but the real story is that food inflation has hit 7.74%, meaning the prices of almost every food item have crossed all limits. For instance, onions are up 108%, garlic 55%, ginger 63%, and lemons 36%," Ramesh said in his post in Hindi on X.
According to government data, retail inflation has steadily risen from 3.40 per cent in March to 5.54 per cent in September, marking the highest level in 23 months, he said.
The top five items with high inflation were onion (108.09 per cent), silver jewellery (87.8 per cent), ginger (62.85 per cent), garlic (54.62 per cent) and lemon (36.41 per cent).
"The impact of inflation isn't confined to just the dinner plate. Essentials like transportation, education, clothing-shoes, and household goods are all getting more expensive," Ramesh claimed.
The poor are losing their daily bread from their plates, the middle class is seeing their savings vanish from their pockets, and the burden of debt keeps growing, but the prime minister is drowned in arrogance, paying no attention to the people's troubles, he alleged.
"The government that came to power promising 'achche din' is not only stealing votes but also robbing savings," Ramesh said.
"When a vote-stealing government has no fear of the people's anger or losing votes, why would it care about the public?" the Congress general secretary said.
"That's exactly what's happening now. Inflation keeps rising, public outrage over vote theft keeps growing, but the Prime Minister sits there like a mauni baba," Ramesh said.
"Ab unke liye jhola uthane ka waqt aa gaya hai," he added.
CPI rates for rural and urban areas are 6.08 per cent and 4.88 per cent, respectively, while the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) with base year 2024 for September is 5.54 per cent.
September inflation numbers are the highest since the new series, with base year 2024, took effect in January.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent, its first hike in nearly four years, while signalling that rate cuts are off the table in the near term and that further hikes could follow amid rising inflation, a weak rupee and high crude oil prices.
It also marginally raised the forecast for retail inflation for the current fiscal year to 5.2 per cent from its earlier estimate of 5 per cent, saying price pressures are increasingly becoming visible across a range of commodities.
IMF hails India growth, BJP calls Rahul 'agent of chaos'
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pradeep Bhandari on Tuesday cited the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest growth forecast to defend India’s economic performance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and launch an attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
In a post on X, Bhandari accused Rahul Gandhi of seeking to undermine the country’s democratic institutions, writing: “IMF projects India to be the fastest-growing economy! This is why Anarchist Rahul Gandhi wants to destabilise established Democratic Order; he is an agent of chaos! Rahul Gandhi hates progress & economic growth!”
He also said: “The world gives thumbs up to Indian economy under Pl @narendramodi which has lifted 20 crore+ people out of poverty!”
The remarks followed the IMF’s projection that India’s economy would expand by 7 per cent in both FY27 and FY28. The fund, however, cautioned that the global economy’s resilience was becoming increasingly vulnerable amid rising energy and food prices and geopolitical uncertainty.