Wrong to blame OPEC for soaring fuel prices: Yashwant Sinha
New Delhi, Sep 11 : Former Union Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday flayed the Modi government for blaming international factors for fuel prices reaching an all-time high.
"They are now blaming international reasons for the rise in prices, but for the last four years they have been reaping its benefits. When because of international reasons, there was benefit in fiscal deficit, current account deficit, in inflation, when for international reasons the balance of payments was increasing, they took all the credit. But now when there is a rise in international crude prices, they are putting the entire blame on the OPEC, which is completely wrong," said Sinha.
"This is the first time in over four years that this government is facing a minor problem on the economic front. But they are unable to handle the crisis and coming out with all sorts of justifications," added Sinha.
The former finance minister's observation came in reaction to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday blaming the Opec for the surge in international prices of crude.
Referring to the RBI revealing that 99.3 percent of the total demonetised notes having returned to the banks, Sinha attacked the government over demonetisation.
"Demonetisation has proved to be a complete failure and helped only the friends of the government to make their black money white," said Sinha who along with his former ministerial colleague Arun Shourie addressed a media conference in Delhi on the Rafale fighter jet "scam".
Shourie said the RBI's report has proved that demonetisation was the "largest money laundering scheme in the world".
"After demonetisation was announced, I had said it to be the world's largest money laundering scheme, and now it has been proved," he said.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
