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Onions come in handy as parties play politics

BJP harps on them ahead of food scheme launch
Last Updated 19 August 2013, 22:21 IST

While the price of onions has been bringing tears in the eyes of city residents, the kitchen staple has also become a staple ‘political tool’ for both the ruling Congress and the opposition to take potshots at each other.

While Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday hit out at opposition parties for resorting to “gimmicks” by selling onions from makeshift shops, the BJP on Tuesday decided to use the issue to protest against the food security scheme, scheduled to be launched by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, thus making Delhi the first state to implement the scheme.

Asserting that the rise in onion prices is a pan-Indian phenomenon, including in states ruled by the opposition party, Dikshit said that unlike the BJP government in 1998, her government has taken all right measures to contain rising prices as well providing relief to city residents by making onions available in different parts of the city at reasonable rates.

“One political party opened four outlets. Another party, which is still trying to be a political party, opened two outlets. These parties are making political gimmicks to gain mileage. We are not selling onions as a political party. We are selling onions at reasonable rates as a duty of the government. We are not politicising the issue,” said Dikshit.

She also cited the example of the nature of protests in other cities like Bhopal, where the protest are being held against the central government and not the state government.

BJP on Sunday started selling onions at Rs 25 a kg against the market rate of Rs 65-80 in the retail market. Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party also started selling the vegetable in some localities at Rs 40 per kg. The Delhi government is selling onions between Rs 50-55 a kg at over 1,000 points across the city through Nafed stores, Safal outlets and 100 mobile vans.

Dikshit also brushed aside suggestions that she was worried about the possible impact of high onion prices in the upcoming Assembly polls as BJP was ousted in 1998 following rise in its rate. She said, “The BJP government fell because it did not make any intervention to stabilise onion prices.”

The Delhi unit of BJP has decided to hold demonstrations outside Talkatora stadium, the venue for the launch of the scheme, by selling onions outside the stadium as a symbol of protest against the “failure of UPA government in curtailing the rise in prices of essential goods”.

City BJP president Vijay Goel said the food security scheme is nothing else but an attempt to camouflage the Congress government’s failure to control prices of all essential commodities, which is pushing many families below the poverty line.  

“On one hand, prices of essential goods such as petrol, diesel, onions and other vegtables have been increasing unabated, while on the other hand the Congress government is doing this gimmick of giving food grains at subsidised rates,” said Goel.

BJP workers, however, are unlikely to reach the venue due to security reasons. Goel said they will open makeshift shop of onions wherever securty forces stop them.

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(Published 19 August 2013, 22:21 IST)

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