At meet on JPC, Trinamool pops price rise surprise

For the Trinamool Congress, it was killing two birds with one stone. At Tuesday's all-party meeting, the key UPA ally stumped the Congress-led government and Left by raising the price rise issue.

For the Trinamool Congress, it was killing two birds with one stone. At Tuesday's all-party meeting, the key UPA ally stumped the Congress-led government and Left by raising the price rise issue.

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The Left did not anticipate that the Trinamool would raise the issue at the meeting, essentially called to break the logjam in Parliament over the opposition's demand for a JPC probe into the 2G-spectrum scam.

Trinamool leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyay's raised the demand for a discussion

on price rise in Parliament, catching the government unawares.

"Price rise is a bigger issue than the 2G scam in which the government is taking action. It affects everybody. We want a discussion on price rise," he said.

The statement was made with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal where the Left has said it would use the issue of price rise and the Centre's failure to curb inflation as a weapon against the Trinamool.

"Our party stands for the poor and cannot support the hike in prices of fertilisers and fuel," she said recently.

For the Congress, price rise and corruption are too major issues the party has to confront in the immediate future. Party leaders privately admit the price rise is a bigger issue given that their constituents pose some "uncomfortable questions" on inflation and rise in the prices of essential commodities.

"We are left grappling for answers," a senior Congress leader said.