The main Opposition also trained its guns at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noting that it is ironical that the economic policies of a government headed by an economist has become a 'conspiracy' against the common man.

“The UPA came to power on the slogan of aam aadmi and the unchecked inflation has now become an unlegislated tax on the same common man,” senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told reporters here.

BJP has been harping on the issue of price rise in an attempt to corner the Congress-led government and it has already decided to launch a country-wide agitation from next week.

Jaitely said the government should have anticipated rise in prices at least two months ago and claimed that the issue will cost both Congress and the UPA dearly in the coming round of Assembly elections.

“The UPA government’s management of food economy is taking the country into an era of food shortage,” he said claiming that buffer stock of food grains maintained by the government has come down to an all-time low.