The blame game on the rising prices on vegetables, pulses and sugar continues. It has already lead to strained relations between Congress and its ally the NCP, as Union Agriculture Minister and the NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

There is also a war of words on between Pawar and state chief ministers, especially Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh.

But again Pawar refused to take the sole blame on sugar saying commodity prices were a collective responsibility of the Cabinet in consultation with the Prime Minister.

Sharad Pawar has also been charged with deliberately stalling the import of raw sugar to promote the interests of the sugar barons in a petition filed by an NGO, which will be heard in the Supreme Court today.