Congress lauds India's gold buying spree

New Delhi, Nov 4 : The Congress today lauded the Manmohan Singh government buying 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF, saying 'it is a proud moment for the nation.' 'This shows that India is strong,' AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told mediapersons.

Referring to the criticism against the pledging of 67 tonnes of gold when Dr Singh was Finance Minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991, he said, ''The wheel has turned a full circle today.'' He said the Congress government had taken the decision to pledge 67 tonnes of gold with the IMF in 1991 only to ensure a better balance of payment position.

When his attention was drawn to the reported statement of Agriculture Minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar that people of India wanted foodgrains and not gold, Mr Ahmed said Mr Pawar was quoted out of context.

In this context, he said Mr Pawar was a senior and responsible Minister of the Union Cabinet.

Mr Ahmed said there was no basis in the allegation that the government was on gold buying spree when the prices of essential commodities were shooting up.

''Whenever there is a gap between the Consumer Price Index and the Wholesale Price Inex, the responsibility is with the state government to take action against hoarding and blackmarketing,'' he said.

He said in a federal system, the state government would not be able to take action against blackmarketeers and hoarders.

''The price rise has to be contained by the agencies of the state governments themselves,'' he added.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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