Price stability not at farmers’ cost: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government is committed to maintaining “reasonable” price stability at 4-5 per cent, but it will not be at the cost of farmers. “We are committed to reasonable price stability but we will not be a party to maintain so-called price stability by neglecting the prices that ought to be paid to our farmers,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha while replying to the debate on President Pratibha Patil’s address to Parliament.

He said the NDA government had maintained a “modicum of price stability” by depressing farm prices, coupled with low international crude oil and food prices. However, despite crude oil prices rising from $36 a barrel in 2004, when the UPA came to power, to over $100 a barrel, the government raised diesel and petrol prices marginally and maintained kerosene prices.

“We are committed to maintaining reasonable price stability,” he said, adding that the government had raised farm prices “handsomely” while not increasing foodgrain prices for BPL and APL families in the last four years. Pointing out that prices of imported foodgrains and vegetable oils are “sky-rocketing”, he said the government would take effective steps to maintain prices to safeguard the weaker sections. Amid disruptions by the Opposition benches, the Prime Minister said that during five years of NDA rule, wheat prices were raised by just Rs 50 a quintal or 8.6 per cent and paddy prices by 12 per cent. However, during the UPA government’s rule, the minimum support prices of wheat and paddy have been raised by 56 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.