The government has taken measures to increase the price of wheat flour by Rs.8.50 a kilo from yesterday (26th) night. Accordingly, the price of a kilo of wheat flour is only Rs.1.50 less than Rs.100. As a result of this increase prices of all related goods would go up.
We condemn with abhorrence the increase of the price of wheat flour while masses are confronted with the real crisis of cost of living going sky high despite claims by the government that inflation was going down according to its so-called statistics.
The government is imposing taxes on essential commodities of the masses to plunder people’s money to meet their wasteful spending. The government has become so heinous that without stopping at increasing the prices of many commodities and services including fuel, bus fares, electricity tariff which severely inconvenience masses, it has increased prices of food items to make masses starve. Specially, consumption of wheat flour is very high among masses in the estate sector. As such, such arbitrary increases in prices are very detrimental. The promises made by the government every time prices are increased to provide relief to masses that are affected by such increases are nothing more than fairy tales.
The government, to conceal its real financial crisis, creates an opposition to any item before its price is to be increased attempting to suppress the opposition to such price increases. This strategy used when increasing prices of cigarettes and liquor is now being used by the government on a wider range from importing vehicles to consuming and importing food items. It is for this reason that certain puppet ministers come out with statements of ‘wheat flour terrorism.’ It will not be a surprise if the government states that the price of flour was increased this time to encourage masses to consume more rice. The real situation for the increase in the price of wheat flour is the situation created by the recently imposed taxes and the depreciation of the rupee. The increase in prices would not stop here and prices of goods and services would go up rapidly.
While vehemently opposing the move to increase prices of food items we call upon the masses in this country to comprehend the brutish nature of the neo-liberalist economic design of the government that takes refuge in imperialism, recognize the need to defeat this cursed socio-economic system and take immediate steps towards a new social order.
