‘Achche Din’ Is Leaving Kitchens Struggling: Kharge
Congress cites sharp increases in staples, says household budgets remain under strain
New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday targeted the Narendra Modi government over rising prices of essential commodities, alleging that the BJP’s promised “achche din” had instead left ordinary people struggling with household expenses and persistent food inflation.
In a post on X, Kharge accused the BJP of attempting to evade accountability through “distracting stunts and nonsensical talk”. He said the Congress and the people would continue to question the government over inflation and the rising cost of living.
Highlighting the pressure on household budgets during the festive season, Kharge said onion prices had risen substantially over the past year, while sugar and cooking oil had also become costlier in several cities. He cited food inflation of 5.52 per cent and wholesale inflation of 9.78 per cent.
“Take a look at the state of the common man’s kitchen during festivals,” Kharge said, listing the prices of several essential commodities.
He said consumers continued to face rising prices of basic food items after 12 years of BJP rule.
“Sometimes lentils, sometimes vegetables, sometimes oil, sometimes sugar,” Kharge said, arguing that one essential commodity or another continued to strain family budgets.
The Congress also released a comparison of retail prices of key kitchen staples in May 2013 and August 2026, attributing the figures to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and newspaper reports.
According to the comparison, tomato prices rose from Rs 17.50 per kg in May 2013 to Rs 120 per kg, an increase of 585.71 per cent. Onion prices increased from Rs 23 to Rs 73 a kg, or 217.39 per cent, while atta prices rose from Rs 21 to Rs 69, an increase of 228.57 per cent.
Tur dal increased from Rs 75 to Rs 180 a kg, urad dal from Rs 71 to Rs 180 and chana dal from Rs 50 to Rs 125. These represented increases of 140 per cent, 153.52 per cent and 150 per cent, respectively.
Mustard oil rose from Rs 102 to Rs 263 a kg and groundnut oil from Rs 165 to Rs 286. Milk prices increased from Rs 36 to Rs 85 a litre, rice from Rs 29 to Rs 71 a kg, sugar from Rs 37 to Rs 84 and potatoes from Rs 24 to Rs 51.
The Congress said the figures showed that prices of several essential commodities had more than doubled during the period.
The Opposition party accused the government of failing to control prices and warned that voters would remember the impact of inflation and “will not forgive” the BJP.
