Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said that the government has contained prices and is committed to keep them under check.
Jaitly said that there is sufficient supply of onion and potato hence there is no need for panic.
Replying on the discussion on the issue of price rise in Rajya Sabha, the Finance Minister said that the UPA did not “take any decision” during its tenure.
Holding the UPA government responsible for poor economic condition of the country, Jaitley said, “Supply-side concerns were not adressed by the UPA government”.
FM said that price of essential goods and commodities have been rising since last two years and also added that absence of storage facilities are one of the key reasons of price rise.
The Finance Minister also blamed the UPA for the bad condition of Indian Railways. He said that Railways is losing to road transportation on freight. Justifying the recent rail fare hike, Jaitley said that the rail fare hike was proposed by the UPA during the interim Budget.
He further said that hike in passenger fare and freight rate was necessary to run railways.
He also told the Parliament that rail losses on passenger fares was at Rs 30,000 crore in February. Mounting rail losses could have led to halt in operation, he added.
