The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre over rising inflation, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining silent like a “mauni baba” as food prices soar and public anger over alleged vote theft grows.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the government, which came to power promising “achche din”, was now “stealing votes” as well as people’s savings. He added that it was time for Modi to pick up his “jhola” and leave.
Food inflation rose to 7.74% in September from 5.97% in August, according to data from the National Statistics Office (NSO). Retail inflation climbed to 5.54%, its highest level in 23 months, Ramesh said.
“Vote theft is the truth; back-breaking inflation is the reality,” Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X, citing reports that retail inflation had reached 5.54% in September. He said the rise in food prices was pushing the cost of essential items beyond affordable levels.
Onion prices rose 108.09% year-on-year, while ginger prices increased 62.85%, garlic 54.62% and lemons 36.41%. Silver jewellery recorded inflation of 87.8%, making it one of the five items with the highest price increases.
Ramesh said inflation was not limited to food, with transportation, education, clothing, footwear and household goods also becoming more expensive. He alleged that the poor were struggling to afford daily necessities, while the middle class was seeing its savings eroded and debt burdens increase.
“The government that came to power promising ‘achche din’ is not only stealing votes but also robbing savings,” he said.
Ramesh alleged that the government had little reason to fear public anger or electoral consequences, accusing Modi of ignoring the hardships faced by ordinary people.
“Inflation keeps rising, public outrage over vote theft keeps growing, but the Prime Minister sits there like a mauni baba,” he said, adding, “Ab unke liye jhola uthane ka waqt aa gaya hai” (It is time for him to pick up his bag and leave).
Concerns over the inflation outlook have also been raised by Systematix Institutional Equities, which said India's inflation risks were significantly higher than the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) projections suggest.
In a report, the brokerage said inflation could rise to 6-7% in the coming quarters as input costs increase and price pressures spread across the economy, potentially requiring further interest rate hikes.
“With the stance now tightening, we see significant upside risk to inflation beyond the projected 6% peak,” the report said.
The report pointed to the RBI's household survey, which showed average inflation expectations at 9.1% in September 2026, well above the prevailing headline inflation rate and continuing to rise. It also cited the RBI's inflation diffusion index, which indicated that price increases were affecting a broader range of categories, suggesting that inflationary pressures were becoming more widespread.
According to the NSO, the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI), based on the new series introduced in January with 2024 as the base year, recorded inflation of 5.54% in September. Inflation stood at 6.08% in rural areas and 4.88% in urban areas.
The September figure was the highest recorded since the new CPI series was introduced. Retail inflation had risen steadily from 3.40% in March to 5.54% in September, Ramesh said.
Last week, the RBI raised its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%, marking its first increase in nearly four years. The central bank signalled that rate cuts were unlikely in the near term and that further increases could follow amid rising inflation, a weakening rupee and high crude oil prices.
The RBI also marginally raised its retail inflation forecast for the current financial year to 5.2% from its earlier estimate of 5%, citing growing price pressures across a range of commodities.
(With agency inputs from ANI and PTI)
