Inflation: ‘Acche din’ burden on the country, says Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi said that the good days that the PM Modi promised seem to be a burden for the country

Congress leader and Member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the country was faced with the challenge of increasing inflation while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s responsibilities lie for his ‘friends’ only.

Taking to micro-blogging platform Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said that the good days that the PM Modi promised seem to be a burden for the country.

“Inflation continues to grow. ‘Acche din’ burden on the country. PM’s responsibility only to friends!” the Congress MP said.

The annual consumer inflation rate in India increased to 6.3 percent in May 2021, the highest in six months, from a downwardly revised 4.23 percent in April. Figures came well above market forecasts of 5.3 percent, as higher global commodity prices including crude, edible oils, and gold weighed.

Food inflation jumped to 5.01 percent, with oils and fats (30.84 percent), non-alcoholic beverages (15.1 percent), fruits (11.98 percent), and pulses (9.39 percent) recording the biggest increases.

Additional upward pressure came from the cost of fuel and light (11.58 percent); pan, tobacco, and intoxicants (10 percent); miscellaneous (7.52 percent); clothing and footwear (5.32 percent); and housing (3.86 percent).

The Reserve Bank of India estimates an average inflation rate of 5.1 percent for the current financial year.

The RBI is facing the difficult conundrum of balancing growth-inflation dynamics. While the RBI’s focus remains on growth, minutes of the June meeting showed the Monetary Policy Committee would remain watchful on inflation.