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'Disgusted' Chidu says middle class comment distorted

by FP Staff  Jul 11, 2012 15:10 IST

#Bangalore   #Chidambaram   #food inflation   #MIddle Class   #NewsTracker  

Home Minister P Chidambaram has hit back after a comment he made at a news conference in Bangalore was construed as a 'hate statement' against India's middle class.

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, Chidambaram said that he was "Disgusted at the deliberate distortion" of his words. He said that he had simply made a matter of fact statement, and had not meant to mock or chide anyone.

Chidambaram is disgusted: PTI

The Home Minister who had attributed higher prices of wheat and rice to higher procurement rates that benefitted farmers said, "We can't look at everything from a middle-class point of view. Why is it that the middle class who will spend Rs 15 on a bottle of water, or Rs 20 on an ice cream complain about a Rs 1 increase in the price of a kilo of rice or a kilo of wheat?".

The comments immediately created a huge media furore, with many hitting out against what they saw as an attack against the middle class. The comments also caught the attention of the opposition with Samajawadi Party leader Shahid Sidduqui warning that such comments could even result in revolution.