The Congress on Saturday argued that the Narendra Modi government’s policy of looting the people was manifested in the abnormal rise in prices of eatables, which increased malnutrition in India, a disturbing fact often drowned in the noise about prices of petroleum products.

Pointing out that India had gone down in the global hunger index, lower than Pakistan, because income was falling and prices soaring. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said: “While the price of petrol has risen abnormally by 31.30 per cent, essential eatables like flour, oil, pulses and vegetables have witnessed a much bigger jump. And there is a hope that prices of petroleum products may come down if crude rates slump in the international market but the food items aren’t going to be cheaper now.”

Rahul Gandhi also hinted at the problem, arguing that while inflation was going up, interest rates on deposits went down. He tweeted: “Inflation rate: 6.95%. Fixed Deposit interest rate: 5%. Forget depositing Rs 15 lakh to your bank accounts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘masterstrokes’ have demolished your hard earned savings.”

Describing it as “Jan Dhan Loot Yojna,” Rahul posted a table that explained how a fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakh used to fetch Rs 19,157 in 2012 and barely Rs 11,437 in 2022.”

Demanding a white paper on inflation and what the government intends to do to ease the burden on the common people, Shrinate said: “Income of 84 per cent Indians has come down; income of 15 per cent people has fallen to half. At this time, prices of 235 of the 299 items listed for WPI have increased. Studies have shown that household expenses have risen by 44 per cent in the last two years.”

Giving a comparison between the prices of 2014 and 2022, Shrinate said: “Chicken-fish are costlier by 95 per cent, mustard oil by 96 per cent, refined oil by 90 per cent, pulses by 48 per cent, vegetables by 68 per cent, milk by 35 per cent, ghee by 38 per cent. Hospital expenses have gone up by 71.6 per cent, medicine by 55 per cent, eating-out by 55 per cent and bus fare by 54 per cent. Tuition fee has increased by 51 per cent and house rent by 46 per cent. The government must explain what it intends to do.”