New Delhi:
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi assured Tuesday that a price hike discussion will take place in parliament once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was tangled up with Covid, returns in a day or two.
“Then we’ll have a discussion,” Mr. Joshi said.
The minister said inflation in India is limited compared to many other countries.
Indian retail inflation has been above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit of 6 percent for the sixth consecutive month in June. Retail inflation stood at 7.01 percent in June.
Wholesale inflation stood at 15.18 percent in June, official data show. Wholesale inflation in June is slightly lower than the 15.88 percent reported in the previous month. Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation has now been in double digits for 15 months in a row.
During the parliament’s ongoing monsoon session, the proceedings were adjourned several times amid clamor by opposition members over issues of inflation, price hike and GST increase for daily necessities.
Leaders of opposition parties including Congress, NCP, DMK and the Left threw slogans against the government demanding a rollback of the increase in GST tariffs on commodities such as curd, bread and paneer.
Both Houses have witnessed continuous adjournments without much productivity since the hearing began.
Several opposition MPs had sent notices of postponement of the motion to the chairman.
Amid clamor in the House, four Congress MPs, including Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, Jothimani and TN Prathapan, have been suspended from the Lok Sabha for the entire monsoon session for their “unruly behavior and disruptive procedures.”
MEPs were suspended under Rule 374 of the Rules of Procedure for ‘unruly and disrespectful behavior towards the President’.
Parliament’s monsoon session began on July 18 and will last until August 12. There will be 18 sittings during the session.
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