Guwahati, Oct 21 (IANS): Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday held the central government solely responsible for the skyrocketing prices of pulses because of its failure to import the essential commodities in time.

"The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is solely responsible for the spiralling rise in the prices of pulses, as it failed to import the essential commodity at appropriate time," he said.

"Today, the hoarders and blackmarketers are having a field day and the common man has been hit hard as pulses constitute their staple meal."

While recalling his tenure as union Minister of State for Food in 1992, Gogoi said he had imported three million tonnes of wheat to keep the prices of the commodity under check.

"The central government's insensitivity towards the common man has been exposed by its total failure to keep the prices of pulses under check," Gogoi said.

"What "acche din" the Centre is talking about when it fails to provide staple food of the "aam aadmi" (common man) at reasonable price? As a matter of fact, the hardships and miseries of the aam aadmi have gone up by leaps and bounds during the tenure of the present dispensation at the Centre," he added.

Gogoi said the present government at the Centre faced scathing criticism from its own Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi for squeezing Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) funds.

"If ICDS programmes aimed at fighting child malnutrition is hit by funds crunch then it has ominous portends of further pushing up infant and maternal mortality rates," the chief minister added.