Poor paying high prices for food due of faulty PDS: FM

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee today ridiculed the Left Fronts plans to launch protests against the rise in food prices and instead faulted the state public distribution system for its inability to provide foodgrains to poor at subsidised prices.

The public distribution system and the Essential Commodities Act are for the state to implement. The Centre has nothing to do here. The poor in the state are not receiving foodgrains at subsidised rates because of the failure of the PDS in West Bengal, Mukherjee told a rally here.

Speaking about petroleum products,Mukherjee said that 90 per cent of these products have to be imported.

If there is a rise in prices in the international market,there is nothing the Centre can do directly, said the finance minister.