The BJP today came down on the government's failure to contain the price rise of essential commodities, holding the UPA's economic policy squarely responsible for the crisis. At a sit-in by party workers at Bari Chaupar, M Venkaiah Naidu blamed poor production and hoarding of available produce by blackmarketeers and stockists for the inflation and advised a revision of stock limits. "Rising prices and rampant blackmarketeering have been a fixture during Congress rule," the BJP vice-president said. Asked to comment on human resource development minister Arjun Singh's choice of Rahul Gandhi as prime ministerial candidate, Naidu wondered if the Congress believes that the current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, is unsuitable to run the government or, in any way, incompetent at his job. He also drew attention to BJP's victories in Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh despite Gandhi's tours in the states
