Digvijay Singh pacifies Mamata, says Govt. taking all steps to tame inflation

New Delhi, Nov. 4 (ANI): With West Bengal Chief Minister issuing a stern warning to the ruling Congress Party that she may think of opting out of the government if it doesn't withdraw the petrol price hike introduced last night, party General Secretary Digvijay Singh today asserted that inflation is a matter of great concern and said Mamata Banerjee as a senior leader might be realising that the Centre is taking all steps to tame inflation.

Responding to a question on Mamata Banerjee's warning to the Congress Party over the issue, Digvijay Singh said: "Everybody is concerned about inflation. But inflation is not only this country; it is in the whole world. Mamata Banerjee is a senior leader and I believe that even she might be realising the fact that this government has taken all measures to tame inflation."

"I hope you should talk to our (Congress) official spokesperson, he added, when asked whether Mamata Banerjee would take any extreme step.

Mamata Banerjee, who met her senior party MPs at Kolkata earlier in the day, said her party had not been consulted about the hike, and that her MPs are willing to quit the UPA if they are excluded from decisions like this one which affect the common man.

"There is no way our MPs can defend this to our people. The price hike may not affect the Centre or Delhi but it affects our people...we stand by the people. We don't want to blackmail anyone, but we have tolerated a lot," she said.

Responding to a question that RTI crusader and veteran social activist Anna Hazare's key aide Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and urged that those people should not be targeted from whom he has taken the money to pay back the dues, Digvijay Singh said: "Arvind Kejriwal is unnecessarily trying to project himself as a martyr. All the rules and laws should be followed. He has not done any favour by making the payments. This is a government rule and he is abiding by it."

Arvind Kejriwal had on Thursday returned over Rs. 9 lakh in dues to settle the issue of his resignation from the IRS, insisting that he was doing so in protest and it does not mean he has accepted any mistake.

He sent a cheque of '9,27,787 along with a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. In his letter, Kejriwal urged the Prime Minister not to "trouble" his six friends, who have given him interest-free loan to repay.

When asked to comment on Anna Hazare's remarks that he is not targeting any party, and is doing all for a strong Lokpal Bill, Digvijay Singh said: "We thank Team Anna (on Anna's statement that he is not against any party). I am happy that they now believe Lokpal should have a constitutional status."

"If Annaji wants to give credit to Rahul Gandhi, we have no problems, he added, when asked whether the Congress Party was not ready to give credit to the anti-corruption crusader. (ANI)