No room for panic, more measures to stem prices: Chidambaram

Under severe attack for the runaway inflation, the Finance Minister, Mr P Chidambaram on Friday said that there is no room for panic and promised more measures both from the government and the RBI to stem prices.
Immediately after meeting the RBI Governor, Dr Y V Reddy, who also met Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Chidambaram said: "We should not give room for panic. We should take steps to quell inflationary expectations...that is precisely the course that the government has adopted in the past and will adopt in future too.''
In a statement circulated to the media by the Finance Secretary, Mr D Subbarao, Mr Chidmabaram said he had met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh last night even as the political parties, including the Left allies, pilloried for what they called failu re in management of prices.
Mr Chidambaram also met the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to appraise her of the situation and the steps that were being taken to tackle inflation, 94 per cent increase in which was due to hike in fuel prices.
First line of defence would be the monetary policy and the RBI is expected to take appropriate steps to keep a lid on inflationary expectations, Mr Subbarao told reporters while fielding a barrage of questions on the government's course of action.
"Price management will be priority in a trade-off between growth and inflation,'' he said, but added that inflationary pressures would be felt for next few months because of the base effect.