Walkout by Opp. after Pawar says worst over

Feb 26, 2010

New Delhi,Feb. 25: The government on Thursday said the "worst was over" and that prices of essential commodities like pulses, sugar and vegetables had started declining, and the trend would continue.

"As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said (at the meeting of chief ministers), the worst time is over. I am absolutely confident ... The situation will change, and we are (heading) for better days," agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said after a day-long discussion in the Lok Sabha on rising prices.

But dissatisfied over this assurance, the entire Opposition walked out of the Lok Sabha in protest. While the Left parties, Samajwadi Party and RJD left minutes after Mr Pawar began his reply, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj led the NDA out of the House soon afterwards.

In his hour-long reply, Mr Pawar doled out a flood of statistics to prove prices were falling for the past three months.

In West Bengal, he noted, farmers were suffering beacause the price of potatoes had crashed.

Age Correspondents

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