Patole slams Centre over price rise, says under BJP India has moved 'back'

Be it inflation, unemployment, poverty, farmer issues, foreign policy...on all these fronts, the Centre has failed completely, he said.Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modis suggestion to states to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to bring down their prices, the Congress leader said the Centre refrained from hiking fuel prices in view of assembly elections in five states a few months ago.During the Chief Ministers meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi said the Maharashtra government should reduce VAT on fuel.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday accused the Centre of failure on all fronts and claimed that under the BJP government, the country has gone ''back by 50 years''.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Patole criticised the Modi government over rising inflation, fuel price hikes, unemployment and poverty.

''Since the BJP came in the power at the Centre, the country has gone 50 years back. Be it inflation, unemployment, poverty, farmer issues, foreign policy...on all these fronts, the Centre has failed completely,'' he said.

Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suggestion to states to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to bring down their prices, the Congress leader said the Centre refrained from hiking fuel prices in view of assembly elections in five states a few months ago.

''During the Chief Ministers meeting (on Wednesday), Prime Minister Modi said the Maharashtra government should reduce VAT on fuel. I would like to ask a question to Modiji that when there were elections in five states, for 147 days, no a single penny hike was effected (in petrol and diesel),'' he said.

However, after the elections got over, the BJP made a plan to ''weaken'' the people financially by increasing the prices of petrol and diesel, Patole said.

He said the Congress's stand is that if the Centre is committing ''atrocities'' on the people of the country, the government in Maharashtra should think of how to bring down inflation.

The Congress is a constituent of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

Patole asked why people from the BJP who are creating ''religious disturbance'' are not talking about the issue of inflation. PTI SPK RSY RSY