Chennai, May 18 (PTI) Asserting that the tumbling Indian currency has added to the cup of woes, CPI general secretary D Raja accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of doing precious little to contain the soaring inflation.

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Instead of putting the economy on the right track, the central government appears to be determined on privatising the public sector undertakings in strategic and non-strategic sectors, he alleged.

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"A group of officers from NITI Aayog have identified 60 central public sector enterprises, coming under various departments, including the Madras Fertilizers and the National Fertilizers to be privatised," Raja told reporters here.

This move, he said, came in the backdrop of rising unemployment and poverty in the country, which ranks very low in several indices.

"People are reeling under inflation. Economy is stagnant and fuel prices are galloping. Instead of addressing people's livelihood issues, the BJP government is trying to divert the attention of the people over the Gyanvapi mosque case by pursuing its communal agenda," Raja alleged.

He appealed to all secular and democratic forces to unite to defeat the BJP and save the country.

"The country's economy is in shambles. The value of the rupee has fallen to an all-time low of 77.61 against the US dollar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should explain what happened to the honour of the nation and the value of Indian rupee," the CPI leader demanded.

He said the Left parties have called for a nationwide protest for a week starting from May 25 against rising inflation and unemployment in the country. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)