New Delhi:
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he had urged the Centre to increase the supply of onions to Delhi to be distributed at subsidised rates even as the opposition BJP and Congress smelt a rat behind the surge in price of the kitchen staple.
Kejriwal said his government would put in place a doorstep delivery system once the stock reaches the city. “We have written to the Centre asking for supply of subsidised onions. Doorstep delivery services will start once the stock arrives,” said Kejriwal on the sidelines of an event in Rajghat.
BJP MLA Vijender Gupta and senior party leaders met lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal and urged him to initiate an inquiry into what he called an “onion scam”.
On the other hand, scores of Congress workers on Thursday staged a demonstration outside the Delhi Secretariat wearing onion garlands to protest against the price rise.
Both parties accused the Centre and the Delhi government of colluding with hoarders to create an artificial shortage of onion in the markets. The Aam Aadmi Pary hit back, asking them if they have been to stabilise rates of onions in states ruled by them.
On Thursday, the price of onion continued to be around Rs 70 per kg across retail markets in the city. The government attributed the sudden price rise to an unpredictable drop in supply owing to weather conditions in large parts of Maharashtra, the biggest source for Delhi-NCR.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the price of onion continued to be around Rs 70 per kg across retail markets in the city. The government attributed the sudden price rise to an unpredictable drop in supply owing to weather conditions in large parts of Maharashtra, the biggest source for Delhi-NCR.
{{/usCountry}}Gupta challenged Kejriwal’s comment, saying, “The AAP government turned a deaf ear when the Centre repeatedly requested it to buy onions at Rs 15.90 per kg out of its buffer stock to make the vegetable available in Delhi during the lean period. The AAP government deliberately created an artificial crisis by conniving with wholesale onion dealers so that they could mint crores by selling onions in the black market.”
Gupta said, “On September 29, Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 70 mobile vans and identified 400 fair price shops for distribution of onions at subsidised prices. The scheme was suspended abruptly and that contributed into forcing people to buying onions at exorbitant prices.”
Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra said despite the farmers not getting proper prices for onions, hoarders had created an artificial shortage. “And that has happened with the blessings of the BJP and AAP governments [in Centre and in Delhi, respectively] to take the prices sky-high. They have worked in collision with the hoarders.”
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj hit back at the BJP and the Congress saying, “Have they been able to stabilise rates of onions in states ruled by them? They should introspect.”
Elaborating on the government’s onion subsidy scheme, Bharadwaj said, “When onion prices had increased manifold last time, the Delhi government procured from the Centre and sold them at Rs 23.90 in the city. The government, however, had received lot of complaints about the quality. The scheme was discontinued after onion prices stabilised in Delhi,” he said.
Bharadwaj said, “After that, the Centre offered us more onions but that was no longer required at that moment. Now the prices have skyrocketed again, so we have written to the Centre again. Our demand is 10 truckloads per day. Each truck roughly gets a stock of 25,000 kg onion. The Centre has said it can provide us only one truckload per day.”