NEW DELHI, Jun 26 (Agencies): Double-digit inflation is likely to continue for a few more weeks before government efforts kick in to ease the rate of price rise, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said.
Ahead of new inflation data to be released tomorrow, he told a television channel that he cannot guess the inflation figure, but "will remain in double digit for some more weeks." "I don't know.
I can't guess the figure," Chidambaram told Karan Thapar in an interview for the Devil's Advocate programme to be telecast on CNN-IBN.
He, however, disagreed with a suggestion that inflation could spoil the United Progressive Alliance's chances in the upcoming general elections.
"Well, that's a premature conclusion.
We will be defensive on inflation.
All politics is about communication; we must communicate to the people why prices are high and efforts we are taking to moderate it," he said.
Inflation touched a 13-year high of 11.05 per cent as on June 7, after a partial pass through of increase in global crude prices.
Government and RBI have taken several fiscal and monetary steps to cool inflation, but these measures may also have a slowdown effect on economic expansion.
Asked whether the government feels achieving nine per cent growth this fiscal would be difficult, the Finance Minister said: "There will be some moderation in growth rate, but growth will not fall precipitously.
"the structure of our economy, which is about 57 per cent services, growth will still be above eight per cent, but the point is we want nine per cent growing up to 10 per cent.
This year we can't hope for that," Chidambaram said.
BJP announces first list of candidates for LS polls NEW DELHI, Jun 26 (Agencies): BJP today announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok sabha elections, fielding its Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
"The countdown to the end of the UPA rule has begun from today.
Our Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani would be contesting from the Gandhinagar parliamentary seat," party General Secretary Anant Kumar said while announcing the list at the party headquarters here.
The list also included the names of five other candidates Navjot Singh Sidhu, Vinod Khanna, Shripad Y Naik, Anurag Thakur and T P S Rawat.
The decision was taken at the meeting of Central Election Committee (CEC) here today, he added.
The CEC chaired by party President Rajnath Singh was followed by a meeting of the Central Election Management Committee and the party's core group.
"The present political scenario and the ensuing instability in the centre was discussed threadbare.
The core group also delved upon the situation arising if the Manmohan Singh government was reduced to a minority," sources said.
Today's meetings were attended by party's senior leaders L K Advani, Venkaiah Naidu, Murli Manohar Joshi, Vinay Katiyar, Anant Kumar and Sushma Swaraj among others.
Party representatives from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Goa unit were also present in the meetings.
The party plans to announce all seats by the end of August and the state units have been asked to send their inputs on candidate selection by then, party leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the meeting.
Gorkhaland impossible: Dasmunshi BALURGHAT, Jun 25 (Agencies): Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi today welcomed the bandh relaxation in the Darjeeling hills by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, but said that Gorkhaland was an impossibility.
Blaming the state government for neglecting the Darjeeling hills which had led to the growth of divisive forces in the region, the minister and also PCC chief told reporters that all problems would be settled through dialogue.
But under no circumstances, West Bengal would be divided, he said adding that the demand for Gorkhaland would not be possible to meet.
Dasmunshi also said there was no question of tripartite discussion on the Darjeeling issue.
The GJM should sit with the state government and resolve problems through dialogue.
Congress, he said, would extend all help and cooperation.
