Arun Jaitley criticised Rahul Gandhi for asking the PM to set a deadline for prices to come down.
Highlights
- "Any form of bluster is not a substitute of statistics," Mr Jaitley said
- He acknowledged that the high prices of pulses is a concern
- Rahul Gandhi had made many jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi
If Rahul Gandhi came to parliament today armed with a rate list of essentials, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's arsenal included statistics that he reeled off to counter the Congress vice-president's attack over rising prices.
"Any form of bluster is not a substitute of statistics," the minister told Mr Gandhi, intervening in a debate on prices in the Lok Sabha.
In his speech Mr Gandhi made many jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his government has failed to control prices, particularly that of essential commodities.
Mr Jaitley asked the Congress leader to compare inflation data from the tenure of the previous UPA government that his party led and that in the two-years of the BJP-led NDA government.
"You are talking about a government which left behind double digit inflation and today we have a situation where steps have been taken in each sector to contain inflation," Mr Jaitely said.
Referring to Mr Gandhi's attack on PM Modi for criticising the then Congress-led government over inflation in February 2014, Mr Jaitley said, "This is a topic of statistics and not sloganeering. The UPA had left government in a serious state and it is but natural that any contesting candidate before election would say that if I come to power, I will try to bring inflation down. No one should have any objection to that."
The Modi government had in fact reduced inflation and kept it under control, the finance minister said, adding that he expects it to reduce further with a "good" monsoon.
He acknowledged that the high prices of pulses is a concern and said steps are being taken to address this by narrowing the gap between demand and supply.
He criticised Rahul Gandhi for asking the Prime Minister to set a deadline for prices to come down, saying issues are settled through policies rather than giving dates. The government, the minister, said is working on policies to encourage farmers to produce more and India is moving towards self sufficiency in pulses produce.