A new political outfit from Lucknow has adopted a novel to protest against the food inflation. Spoofing Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s concept of `Chai pe charcha’, the Azad Bharat Congress has started `dal pe charcha’ to hold `nukkad’ discussions on the government’s inability to check price-rise.

Instead of `Har har Modi’, its war cry is `Ar-har Modi’. Basant Yadav, party’s UP unit chief, told TOI, that in 2011, Modi had given a 20-point suggestions and recommended 64 steps to the then PM Manmohan Singh, which could have effectively curbed price-rise.

Govt to import another 3,000 tonnes of pulses 

The government on Monday decided to import another 3,000 tonne of pulses -2,000 tonne of arhar and 1,000 tonne of urad -as retail price of arhar crossed Rs 200 per kg in two southern cities, Mysuru and Puducherry .The daily prices of essential commodities across cities compiled by the consumer affairs department showed arhar selling at Rs 205 per kg in Mysuru and at Rs 210 in Puducherry . It was Rs 195 a kg in Mangaluru.

Last week, the maximum retail price was Rs 185 per kg.The prices of pulses have increased abnormally in the past few months due to reduction in domestic production and also shortage across the globe, particularly in the case of arhar. Government data shows that last year, arhar was selling at Rs 85 per kg. Urad too was retailing high at Rs 170 per kg on Monday , which is less than Rs 187 per kg last week.

On Monday , a government release said the decision to import 3,000 tonne pulses was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by cabinet secretary P KSinha along with secretaries of consumer affairs, agriculture and commerce ministries.

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