COIMBATORE, APRIL 1 : Describing measures taken by the government to control spiralling prices of essential goods as “half-hearted”, key outside supporter CPM on Tuesday said it would go ahead with its proposed nationwide agitation on the issue with other parties.

“These measures are half-hearted and not fruitful. They haven’t taken any concrete steps to check prices. We are discussing with other parties and will organise the protest actions jointly,” CPM politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai told reporters here.

Among the urgent measures the party has demanded are a ban on futures trading in all essential commodities, withdrawal of a legislation which would allow FDI into the commodities market, universalising public distribution system, changing the petro-products taxation structure and carrying out dehoarding drives, he said.

His remarks came a day after the government announced a fresh set of measures including ban on export of non-basmati rice and slashing of import duties on edible oils and maize to check inflation.

The BJP too slammed the measures to curb inflation as “short-sightedness”. In Jaipur, BJP vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters that his party will hold nationwide protests next week against rising prices and will corner the Congress on the issue in the approaching Assembly elections.

“The Cabinet Committee on Prices which met in Delhi last night has no effective measures to control price rise and reflects the short-sightedness of the UPA government,” said Naidu.

He said the CCP’s steps amounted to “nothing” since it only promised to monitor prices of essential commodities like flour, edible oils, pulses besides cement and steel.

There was no shortage of foodgrains and essential commodities, he said and accused the UPA government of failing to “manage prices and curb blackmarketeers who store the produce for a better deal”.