Kerala Chief Minister Mr V S Achuthanandan and ruling CPI-M led LDF on Monday blamed the Centre for the current spurt in prices of essential commodities and said frequent hike of petrol price had aggravated inflation in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Achuthanandan said allowing speculative and future trading of food grains, de-control of petroleum prices and handing over the upkeep of FCI godowns to corporates have led the country to the present crisis.

Lambasting the Centre for not taking any measures to check price rise of essential commodities, Mr Achuthanandan said the recent meeting held by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to chalk out strategy to combat inflation was an attempt to hoodwink the people.

Petrol prices were hiked by Rs.13 in the last seven months by the UPA government and it had adversely affected the state like Kerala, being a consumer state, he pointed out.

Mr Achuthanandan said LDF government was trying its best to contain price rise of essential commodities by supplying food items at subsidised rate through Consumerfed and Supplyco outlets. ‘An amount of Rs.600 crores was earmarked every year for subsidy of food items’, Mr Achuthanandan said.

Criticising the on-going ‘Kerala Mochana Yatra’ led by state Opposition leader Mr Oommen Chandy, Achuthanandan said Mr Chandy should lead the Yatra to Delhi instead to Thiruvananthapuram.

Meanwhile, LDF Convener Mr Vaikom Viswam said that LDF would organise a Dharna before the Raj Bhavan on January 22 to protest against the policies of Centre that led to price rise of commodities.

LDF would organise two Yatras from Kasargod to Thrissur and Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram to expose the failure of Centre to check price rise.

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