Cong leaders' meal remarks irrational: Badal

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today alleged the Congress leaders had played a cruel joke with the poor with their baseless statements that one could eat well for Rs five.
Prices of essential commodities had skyrocketed during the UPA regime and by issuing such "irrational statements", the Congress leaders are rubbing salt into the wounds of the poor", he told reporters here.
"These leaders owe an explanation to the people that how can a poor person get meal for Rs 5 at a time when the cost of food items have risen tremendously," Badal said.
"The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has been totally insensitive towards problems facing the poor," he said.

Owing to runaway inflation, it had become difficult for the common man to manage the household, the SAD supremo said.
"Such statements of Congress leaders amount to playing a cruel joke with the poor," he said.

On UPA's Food Security Ordinance, the Chief Minister said his government had been providing food security to the poor through the Atta-Dal scheme for the past many years.
Earlier addressing a gathering, Badal launched a scathing attack on the UPA government alleging it was pursuing faulty policies.
"At the time of Independence, the rate of dollar was at par with the rupee but now due to ill-conceived policies of the Union government, the rate of rupee is much less than the dollar," he said.