The Delhi BJP today slammed the Congress government over unabated rise in the prices of onion and other staple food items in the national capital. The party said it is ironical that while the Congress government has completely failed to perform its basic duty of controlling price rise, it is trying to go for window dressing by making false claims and tall promises to residents of Delhi.
In a joint statement issued today, Delhi BJP general secretaries Smt. Shikha Rai, Shri Ramesh Bidhuri and Shri Jai Prakash said that the prices of onion have brought tears to common household’s eyes but the Congress government has failed to put any check on these prices. It is issuing completely misleading price lists claiming otherwise. This is like adding insult to injury.
Highlighting the troubles of the women of Delhi in managing kitchen and household budget, Delhi BJP General Secretary Shikha Rai said, “Under the present Congress regime, even the regular items of kitchen are vanishing from the dinner table. Onions are being sold at a price upto Rs. 70 in the national capital. Similar is the case with other staples including tomatoes.”
“How can anyone have a decent meal on a daily basis? Are we heading to a regime of ‘Onion-Loan’ from banks?”
“The Congress government is playing in the hands of hoarders who are creating artificial shortage of onion and other food articles,” said Shri Bidhuri.
“The Congress government has turned its eyes away from the sufferings of people. Corruption has crippled the entire government machinery under Congress, giving a free run to middlemen and hoarders,” he added.
The party has also criticized the Centre’s decision to export onions to Pakistan while people back home are facing a crisis.
Delhi BJP General Secretary Shri Jai Prakash expressed his utter dismay at the lack of efforts from the Congress government in dealing with the onion crisis. Shri Jai Prakash said, “The Congress government’s inertia is hitting the consumers very hard. It first connived with the hoarders and caused rise in prices of onion and now it is opening onion stalls to gain political mileage out of people’s problem.”
On July 15, 2013, the union commerce ministry released data showing that the price of onions had shot up 114 percent since June 2012. The consumer price inflation rose 9.9 percent in the 12 months through June this year. This is the biggest jump among the BRIC nations. It was 6.7 percent in Brazil, 6.9 percent in Russia, and just 2.7 percent in China.