India's main opposition Congress party has launched a sustained attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over sharply rising food prices, citing official data showing wholesale price inflation (WPI — a broad measure of prices at the producer level) hovering near 10% for four consecutive months. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh highlighted steep increases across staples, including an 82% rise in onion prices between June and September, spice prices up by as much as 25%, and cooking oil and pulses also climbing significantly, saying the surge has "broken the back" of the middle and poor classes. The opposition has further pointed to CMIE data showing inflation-adjusted wages have fallen 5.7% since April — with rural wages down 9% — arguing that the government's silence on inflation, while citing GDP growth figures, amounts to an "anti-people" policy.