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Fernandes flays price hike critics

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, April 22

THE Defence Minister and Samata Party leader, Mr. George Fernandes, on Saturday hit out at those demanding a rollback in price hike of essential commodities, including some NDA allies.

He added that those demanding the rollback were at the same time asking for higher Government allocation in various sectors.

``When Orissa was lashed by a cyclone last year, everyone wanted it to be declared as a cyclone of rare severity and the Government to provide huge amount as compensation. Where was the Government going to get this money from?,''he said at a press confer ence.

On whether the Samata Party endorsed the price hikes, Mr. Fernandes said that he was in the Cabinet and had endorsed the Budget and the allocations with ``full conviction''.

He also said that there had been demands, both inside and outside Parliament, to modernise the armed forces. For this, and for the forces to be in a state of readiness always, an allocation of three per cent of the GDP had to be made in the Budget.

Since 1991, there has not been adequate allocation for defence and this had an adverse effect on the preparedness. However, the Vajpayee Government has stepped up the allocation, he states.

According to Mr. Fernandes, there was also a demand that whatever was required for defence purposes had to be granted.

``This money has to come only through taxes. At the same time, there was opposition to fresh taxes and demands for rollback of taxes. This is contradictory,'' he said, adding that it was the citizens' taxes that kept the Army going.

The Defence Ministry has started work on an aircraft carrier at the Cochin shipyard, and Budgetary allocation has also been provided for the naval base at Karwar, Mr. Fernandes added.