Guwahati, August 8: With consumers grappling with the escalating rates of daily kitchen essentials, the Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday staged a massive protest here against the skyrocketing prices of grocery items, vegetables, LPG and even medicine.
The protest, led by state TMC chief and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, was staged in front of the Kamrup Metropolitan deputy commissioner’s office at Hengrabari here.
Workers and supporters of the party staged a demonstration by wearing garlands of rice, carrots and carrots around their necks and raising slogans, accusing the BJP-led government of being unable to control the unabated inflation. The party workers demanded that the prices be regulated at the earliest.
The police had made arrangements at the protest site to stop the protesters from storming into the deputy commissioner’s office. However, as the demonstration picked momentum, police detained the leaders of the party, including the state president, and took them to the Assam Police Battalion (4 APBn) headquarters at Kahilipara.
Speaking to mediapersons at the protest site earlier, Assam Trinamool Congress president Ripun Bora vehemently criticised the BJP government for not addressing the concerns and plight of the common man amidst such a situation.
“There are many reasons why people are suffering from the skyrocketing prices of food items. The prices of rice, mustard oil and pulses have been increased consistently, making life difficult. Now, the government also wants to increase the price of medicine by 20 per cent and take away people’s right to life,” Bora stated.
“In the past, supply ministers used to visit the markets to assess the situation whenever prices escalated. On the contrary, the food and civil supplies minister Ranjeet Dass has insulted the people by making a trivial comment when he said only the rates of branded rice were going up and not the rice consumed by common people,” the TMC leader said.
“Ahead of the 2014 general elections, the BJP had promised that if the party came to power it would check price rise. Riding on the commitment, the party came to power. Now, even after being in power for nine years, the party has done precious little to control inflation,” he added.
Last month, the Kamrup Metro district administration released the wholesale price list for fruits and vegetables at the Pamohi wholesale market. The prices of tomatoes in particular have surged to a staggering Rs 120 per kilogram in the retail markets and Rs 100 (per five kg) in the wholesale market.
Notably, heavy rainfall and floods in Assam have had an adverse impact on the vegetable produce in the city. In order to meet the rising demand amidst such inflation, vegetables are being sourced from other states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
