Kerala's retail inflation rate, the highest in the country, sparked a heated debate in the Assembly on Thursday with the Opposition UDF accusing the LDF government of failing miserably in tackling the rise in prices of essential commodities.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies G.R. Anil termed the charge baseless, stating that prices of none of the commodities vital to common people were up. He attributed the high inflation rate in August, 9.04% against the all-India rate of 2.07%, to the steep rise in the price of certain commodities under the 'Food and Beverages' and 'Miscellaneous' categories such as oil and fats, gold and silver.

No price rise has been reported in the case of meat, egg, milk, fish or sugar. The prices of vegetables, pulses and spices have in fact come down, he said.

However, the Opposition did not accept the explanation, alleging that Mr. Anil had no statistics to back up his claims. At the end of the two-and-a-half-hour discussion, Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan announced a walk-out in protest, accusing Mr. Anil and the government of attempting to cover up what he termed the reality of a price rise in Kerala.

Earlier in the day, the State government had agreed to a discussion on an adjournment motion moved by Congress's P.C. Vishnunadh on the rise in prices of essential commodities and Kerala's status as the State with the highest inflation rate.

Mr. Vishnunadh said Kerala has topped the list for retail inflation rate consistently for the past eight months. He accused the government of failing in effective market intervention measures and monitoring the market prices.

"In July 2024, responding to an adjournment motion, Mr. Anil said inflation was severe in neighbouring States such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was at 5.47% in Kerala at the time. What is the situation now? Karnataka, which has the second highest rate after Kerala, has only 3.8%. Data published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation show States with rates like 1.24%, 1.77%, 0.52% and even a negative rate when Kerala's has shot up to 9.04%," he said.

Mr. Vishnunadh also alleged that the government had hiked the prices of 13 subsidised commodities, notwithstanding a government assurance that the prices would not be increased.

Mr. Satheesan sought urgent measures for checking the price rise, pointing that the phenomenon was upsetting household budgets. "The burden on the monthly budget of a middle-class family would have risen by between ₹10,000 and ₹15,000 in September this year compared to September 2024. More than a rise in prices, the Kerala economy and family budgets are being pushed into a crisis," he said, adding that the quality and standard of the lives of the common people were in jeopardy.

Mr. Satheesan also pointed to an evolving crisis where dwindling foreign remittances coupled with ''reverse remittance" -- the outflow of money from the State through the migrant worker population -- posed a challenge to the State's economy.

Deputy Opposition Leader P.K. Kunhalikutty demanded a more realistic approach on the part of the government to handling inflation. Kerala can no longer afford such a steep rise in prices. Earlier, foreign remittances helped the State absorb such eventualities. But that is no longer the case, given the international labour situation, he said.

Sparks fly in Kerala Assembly over State's high retail inflation rate, Opposition UDF stages walkout