Modi Government’s ‘All‑Out Assault’ on Kitchen Budgets, Claims Jairam Ramesh

On Saturday, Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh took to X with a scathing take‑down of the Modi administration, saying it has effectively launched an "all‑out assault" on the average Indian kitchen. He painted a stark picture – shelves lined with flour, pulses and cooking oil that now cost almost twice as much as they did a year ago.

"Household kitchen budgets have completely collapsed," Ramesh wrote, his tone a mixture of anger and disbelief. He went on to argue that the government isn’t really trying to tame inflation; instead, it is busy "concealing the truth" through what he called “statistical jugglery”. The numbers, he suggested, are being massaged to give the illusion of control while families feel the pinch at every meal.

Ramesh didn’t stop at economics. He aimed a direct line at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning that the mounting discontent will surface at the ballot box. “The people of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa know what’s happening in their kitchens,” he said. “When the state elections arrive, they will make you reckon with the real cost of essentials.”

Amid the political heat, a separate development was making headlines in the finance world. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced a new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) regime for UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, effective from 15 October 2026. Under the revised rules, merchants will be charged a modest 0.4% fee, capped at Rs 300 per transaction, while consumers continue to use UPI for free. Ramesh didn’t directly link this to his inflation gripe, but the timing adds another layer to the ongoing debate over everyday costs.

Whether the government’s figures will hold up under scrutiny, or whether the electorate will push back at the polls, remains to be seen. One thing is clear: the conversation around kitchen budgets is no longer a quiet whisper – it’s a full‑blown rallying cry from opposition leaders and, increasingly, from ordinary citizens trying to stretch every rupee.