This Article is From Jan 20, 2010

Now, milk to be costlier in north India

New Delhi: The common man's woes are far from over. In fact, they may just be worse with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar now indicating that milk is set to get costlier in north India due to a severe shortage in supply.

He said there was a huge shortage of milk in north India and big pressure to increase prices. He once again put the blame on state governments for not increasing milk production, pointing out that there was a gap of 18 lakh tons between demand and the current milk supply.

The BJP has, meanwhile, stepped up pressure on the Centre over the price rise issue, with a high-profile delegation led by LK Advani and party president Nitin Gadkari meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.

The BJP is all set to launch a protest against the spiraling prices of essential commodities. Its question to the government: "Why can't an economist PM check prices?"

The delegation that met Manmohan Singh today included senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and other senior functionaries.

Advani said, "not merely the weaker sections of society, but  the entire middle class is affected by inflation, particulary inflation of food items."

Gadkari squarely blamed "wrong economic policies" of the UPA government for the rise in prices.
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