Under attack from the Opposition as well as its allies, Congress Working Committee tonight expressed deep concern on Thursday night over rising prices and asked the government to work out an effective mechanism to check the price line.
An emergency CWC meeting convened by party chief Sonia Gandhi saw Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram explaining the circumstances that led to the cost push and assuring the top leadership that the government would do its best to control the rising prices.
Dr Singh told the apex policy-making body of the party that his government faced an unenviable situation due to sky-rocketing of global crude oil prices from some $20 per barrel during the National Democratic Alliance rule to over $70 now.
Briefing reporters, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee dismissed suggestions that the CWC meet was indicative of the party putting the government on notice or that the deliberations were a 'friendly fight' between the organisation and its government. "There has been no fight so there is no question of even a friendly fight," he said.
The three-hour meeting took place in the backdrop of strident criticism from Left parties, who are supporting the government from outside, and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which sought to embarrass the Congress over its aam admi plank.
The meeting was the first one on the issue of price rise since the congress-led United Progressive Alliance came to power two years ago and was held amid firm signals from Chidambaram that the government would take more monetary and fiscal steps if needed to curb inflation.
It took place at a time when surging prices of wheat, pulses, sugar, vegetables and costlier fuel pushed inflation to one-year high of 5.24 percent.
The CWC saw the government telling the party that it has already initiated action to check the price line by going in for imports of wheat, pulses and sugar to strengthen the supply position.
The Centre has also asked the States to take effective measures against hoarding and blackmarketing, Mukherjee said. There are concerns that the inflation may rise further due to cascading effect of hike in fuel prices and the government's Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahiri has said that the Centre was vigilant and has taken steps.
Mukherjee rejected views that the convening of the CWC meet was in any way an adverse reflection on the performance of the government.
Asserting that Congress governments know how to control prices, he said there had been such a CWC meet when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister in 1974, when the prices had risen by 24 percent.
The Congress, in power in 1980, had even faced a situation when inflation rate was 18 percent and in 1991 when it was 16 percent.
The CWC meeting reviewed the price situation and expressed its deep concern for the plight of common man, especially the poor who are the worst affected at the high prices of essential commodities.
The meeting took place ahead of Dr Singh's visit to Vidarbha scheduled for later this week, in the wake of growing suicides by farmers in the region.
The CWC meet was held over a month after Gandhi voicing her concern over rising prices at the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party. She had then asked the government to do everything possible on the issue.
The issue of price rise has become a sensitive one for the Congress, which proclaims itself to be the champion of aam aadmi. The issue of fuel price hike had also seen protests from the opposition.
The Congress had then favoured a partial rollback, but when it did not materialise, the party asked its state governments to lower duties to minimise the burden on the common man.
The last meeting of the CWC was held against the backdrop of a controversy over the OBC quota issue and had witnessed divergent views on the proposal.
