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03.08.2010
DR. M. THAMBIDURAI (KARUR): Sir, I am very thankful to you for giving me
an opportunity to participate in the discussion on price rise and inflationary
condition.… (Interruptions) The issue of 2G is also related to this issue in one way.
We cannot deny that. It is because we have lost the government’s money by the
wrong policy followed by the Minister of Telecommunications. We lost nearly Rs.
1 lakh crore. It is a fact.
Sir, there are many issues in the country which we have to tackle but price
rise is a very important issue as it affects the common man. Recently, the Central
Government raised the prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG, etc. Because of this,
prices of other commodities have also increased. To protest this, on 13 th July,
2010, my leader, Amma, Dr. Jayalalitha, held a historic rally in Coimbatore in
which 20 lakh people attended. This shows the unhappiness of the people of the
country and that is why, we have seen such a turnout in that rally. When we go to
the market to purchase various items, we not only purchase wheat or rice, but we
also purchase other food items like chillies, vegetables, ghee and dal. What about
the prices of these commodities? They have gone up many times. The price of
dal is nearly Rs. 100 per kilo. The price of oil is also Rs. 100 per kilo. If we want
to purchase sugar, its price is Rs. 45 per kilo. The price of cooking salt has
increased to Rs. 12 per kilo. The cost of match box is Rs. 2 each. This is the kind
of price hike which is going on.
Why are the prices rising? It is mainly because agricultural production is
going down. The agricultural cultivated area is going down nowadays.
As farmers are not getting remunerative prices, they are not interested in
cultivating crops. That is one reason. We are not getting rain on time. Inter-State
water disputes are also affecting the cultivation. It is also affecting the people of
Tamil Nadu particularly. We are not able to get sufficient water, either from
Cauvery or Mullai Periyar or Palar. Therefore, the farmers are not in a position to
cultivate crops. Since the farmers are not getting remunerative prices, most of
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