Congress Slams Modi Govt Over Inflation, Alleges Data Manipulation

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 28th Nov. The Congress party on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of focusing on manipulating inflation data rather than addressing the issue itself. Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh criticized the government for attempting to show low inflation figures through adjustments to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI), while ignoring the real-world impact on the public.

Ramesh claimed that the inflationary pressures have been worsened by the government’s poor policy-making, resulting in high food, fuel, and daily goods prices. Despite global crude oil prices falling, he noted that petrol and diesel prices in India remain high, increasing transportation costs and affecting everyday services.

He further alleged that the government was attempting to downplay food inflation by reducing the weightage of food items in the CPI, a move Ramesh described as “dishonest.” He argued that this would affect the incomes of millions, particularly government employees who would see a further decline in their dearness allowance and salary increments.

Ramesh accused the Modi government of repeatedly manipulating data to mislead the public, citing the change of base years to inflate GDP growth rates, altering employment criteria to hide joblessness, and creating a “deceptive” poverty index to claim poverty reduction. He also criticized the government’s secrecy, citing the removal of fuel price comparison data from official websites and record profits made by oil companies.

“In a government obsessed with propaganda and data manipulation, the welfare of the people is clearly not a priority,” Ramesh concluded.