STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president and Binnakandi MLA Maulana Badruddin Ajmal has criticised the BJP-led Assam government over the sharp rise in prices of essential commodities, alleging that the government has failed to control the market.
In a statement, Ajmal said that people in Assam have been facing severe hardship due to the unprecedented rise in prices since the BJP formed the government for a third consecutive term with a clear mandate.
He alleged that the government has failed to effectively regulate the market and claimed that the government itself appeared to be directly involved in the prevailing price rise.
“Such a situation has not been witnessed in Assam’s history before,” Ajmal said, adding that compared with other states, the increase in prices of essential commodities in Assam appeared to be particularly high.
He also pointed to wide variations in prices between different markets within Assam. According to him, prices fixed by the Food and Civil Supplies authorities at the district level are not being followed in the markets.
Ajmal alleged that there was a huge gap between wholesale and retail prices and said middlemen were playing a major role in increasing the prices of locally produced vegetables.
He said farmers were not receiving remunerative prices for their produce, while consumers were being forced to pay significantly higher prices. Farmers, he added, often could not sell their produce directly because transportation costs had increased substantially due to fuel prices and multiple toll gates between different locations.
Expressing concern over the recent surge in egg prices, Ajmal said onion prices had also increased to around Rs 60 per kg. He said rising prices of pulses, rice, edible oil and sugar had made it increasingly difficult for ordinary households to manage their kitchens. The AIUDF president further said the price rise had severely affected daily-wage workers, whose economic condition had become more vulnerable.
Questioning why the Chief Minister had not taken stronger steps to regulate the market, Ajmal said the issue had created doubts among the public.
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