Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday refuted the charge of the Treasury benches that his party insisted on a discussion on price rise even though Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was indisposed.

Sitharaman was infected with Covid-19 last month. "...I refute the charges because these are based upon unmitigated falsehood," Chowdhury said during a debate on the issue of price rise in Lok Sabha.

He said that he and his party had been praying for Sitharaman's immediate recovery ever since she was infected with the virus. "Without any rhyme or reason...the allegations have been hurled against us...to the disrespect of the opposition and it is simply based on falsehood," the Congress leader said.

He also wished Sitharaman a sound health. Chowdhury claimed that the country was in great trouble and suffering from the crisis of malnutrition and hunger.

The trade deficit is widening which has caused the weakening of the rupee against the dollar, he said. He also asked the government to share the real reasons behind price rise.

"What steps is the government taking to take the people out of this situation?" he questioned. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal slammed the government over price rise.

Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM linked inflation to corruption and said the poor of this country were disappointed with the present government at the Centre. Finance Minister Sitharaman responded to the debate in Lok Sabha and said India was facing no risk of recession or stagflation as macroeconomic fundamentals of the economy were strong.

(With PTI Inputs)