Will not allow food prices to rise: Paswan

Setting aside allegations levelled by opposition parties, Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said that prices of food items will not be allowed to escalate, despite the weak monsoon. 

“There is a dire need for a national marketing policy in the country, which we are working on. The policy has to be reworked from scratch. We are talking to all state governments and have started working towards this,” Paswan said, while addressing a press conference in Jaipur.

The minister reiterated that food inflation will be controlled at any cost, irrespective of the monsoon. “We had promised the people and we will live up to their expectations...we accept the challenge and we will not allow prices of food items to go up,” he said, adding, “We will not face a shortage of wheat, rice for up to a year. There are sufficient stocks of tomato and onion as well.”

Attributing the hike in prices to indiscriminate hoarding, he said, “Hoarders create a panic situation and people start buying and storing food and other items in huge quantities, expecting prices to go up further. However, the government is determined to not let panic set in.”

Interestingly, the Centre has, over the last three years, written several letters to the state government to run a campaign against hoarding. However, not a single one has been launched in Rajasthan as yet.