The BJP on Friday accused Finance Minister P Chidambaram of giving “false information” on the demand made by the NDA-ruled states which asked for Rs 1,000 per quintal MSP for paddy.“The Finance Minister has provided false information. He is either misleading or is not aware of letters sent by the state governments to the Centre,” senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said, furnishing copies of the letters.The letters released by the Opposition party included one by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and one by the Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary.“I strongly recommend and request for enhancement of MSP of paddy to Rs 1,000. I am hopeful that with your personal intervention paddy growers and poor states get justice,” Naidu quoted from Raman Singh’s letter. “Isn’t this opposite to what Finance Minister has claimed,” he told reporters.“Similar letters from Orissa and Madhya Pradesh have asked for MSP of paddy at above Rs 1,000 per quintal,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister of Orissa will be writing to the Prime Minister again.Meanwhile, the party continued to flay the Government for price hike with inflation touching a high of 8.75 per cent. “The illustrious team of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is set to break its own record of above 10 per cent inflation of 1994-95,” party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.The party claimed that during the NDA rule, oil prices had also seen an upsurge but “prudent fiscal policies of the Vajpayee Government” had managed to contain inflation.
