File photo of Sheila Dikshit
New Delhi:
The humble onion touching Rs 100 a kilo has provoked a string of dark jokes on social media and in drawing room conversations, but Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit of the Congress is not laughing.
She was most worried as she met Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Food Minster KV Thomas today and has been assured that onion prices will come down in about two or three weeks. But that will be well after November 3 or Diwali, the biggest festival of the year in many parts of the country.
"The situation is serious. We are trying to stabilize the prices. We will write to the Election Commission to allow us to restart sale of onions through mobile vans," Ms Dikshit, 75, said, referring to an initiative launched by her government to sell onions at a low cost in August, which has been discontinued as it violates the model code of conduct in a poll-bound state.
Ms Dikshit has a copy cat situation to battle. In 1998, her spectacular defeat of the ruling BJP in Delhi was credited more to high onion prices than to her electoral appeal; she has been chief minister since. But now, six weeks before elections are held in Delhi, the price of the onion is again touching the roof.
The Central government also led by the Congress, is stretching itself to help Ms Dikshit out of her onion predicament. Mr Pawar will meet Mr Thomas separately to discuss measures to push down prices; Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma might join in, sources said.
They blame hoarders. Mr Pawar today said an "artificial onion scarcity" had pushed up prices and they will stabilise in a few weeks. Mr Sharma said state governments had to act against hoarders. He said co-operative major National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd or NAFED would import onion to ease prices.
The BJP is delighted and has used every opportunity to use onions to attack Ms Dikshit. She, in turn, has accused the opposition of trying to make political capital of the situation, and said if the BJP had ruled Delhi for the last 15 years, onion prices would have "risen to Rs. 400 per kg" by now.
She was most worried as she met Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Food Minster KV Thomas today and has been assured that onion prices will come down in about two or three weeks. But that will be well after November 3 or Diwali, the biggest festival of the year in many parts of the country.
"The situation is serious. We are trying to stabilize the prices. We will write to the Election Commission to allow us to restart sale of onions through mobile vans," Ms Dikshit, 75, said, referring to an initiative launched by her government to sell onions at a low cost in August, which has been discontinued as it violates the model code of conduct in a poll-bound state.
Ms Dikshit has a copy cat situation to battle. In 1998, her spectacular defeat of the ruling BJP in Delhi was credited more to high onion prices than to her electoral appeal; she has been chief minister since. But now, six weeks before elections are held in Delhi, the price of the onion is again touching the roof.
The Central government also led by the Congress, is stretching itself to help Ms Dikshit out of her onion predicament. Mr Pawar will meet Mr Thomas separately to discuss measures to push down prices; Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma might join in, sources said.
They blame hoarders. Mr Pawar today said an "artificial onion scarcity" had pushed up prices and they will stabilise in a few weeks. Mr Sharma said state governments had to act against hoarders. He said co-operative major National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd or NAFED would import onion to ease prices.
The BJP is delighted and has used every opportunity to use onions to attack Ms Dikshit. She, in turn, has accused the opposition of trying to make political capital of the situation, and said if the BJP had ruled Delhi for the last 15 years, onion prices would have "risen to Rs. 400 per kg" by now.
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