With inflation touching a record seven-year high of 8.75 per cent on Friday, UPA government came under severe attack from both supporting Left parties as also the BJP, charging the "illustrious team" led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with "monetary and fiscal failure".
As another Friday saw an all-time high inflation during the four-year UPA rule, friends and foes alike pilloried the Congress-led coalition with Left parties accusing the government of adopting a "slack attitude".
"The illustrious team of Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is set to break its own record of the above ten per cent inflation of 1994-95," party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
Rudy was referring to Narasimha Rao regime from 1991 to 1996 when Singh was the Finance Minister, Chidambaram was Commerce Minister and Ahluwalia was the Finance Secretary.
The Congress was on the defensive mode with party spokesman Shakil Ahmed contending that inflation was very high in all Asian countries compared to India.
"We are also concerned about price rise, but international scenario especially rise of crude oil cost is hurting the economy of all countries of Asia," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"We are also concerned about price rise, but international scenario especially rise of crude oil cost is hurting the economy of all countries of Asia," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Ahmed saw no immediate light at the end of the tunnel and apprehended that the way the international scene is affecting Asia, "it may cause some trouble in the weeks to come".