The Congress blamed the media for creating the myth of inflation and said that the media is giving conflicting rates of commodities which did not match the reality.
Congress Spokesman Meem Afzal said on Tuesday that he himself visited a local vegetable market in the Old Delhi area to take stock of the existing market rates of onion, potato, tomatoes and found that it was almost half the price that has been quoted by the media.
Afzal added that onions were being sold at `55 per kg, good quality potato less than `20 per kg and tomatoes less than `30 per kg in Daryaganj whereas the media has been reporting almost double the rates of these commodities.
“Price rise is an issue and concerns the aam admi and media should play its role of a watchdog and not a perpetrator as it may take a wrong turn for not only the Centre but also the retailers. Such conflicting reports about the price commodities should be avoided for the benefit of general people at large. logon ki mushkilein badhti hain (Common man’s problem aggravates if proper information is not provided to them),” Afzal said at a media briefing at AICC headquarters.
Afzal patted the Maharashtra Government for taking an initiative to check the prices. “The State Government conducted raids against the hoarders and black-marketeers. In two days, prices of all the commodities have come down drastically. States should follow the procedure and do the needful for the welfare of the people in controlling price rise,” he said.
On a query about the ever rising inflation, Afzal said RBI should come out with policies for the banking sectors so that there is a check on the problems being faced by the common man.