Watch: For Haggling Over Rs 15 Corn, A Minister Is Roasted

"It's too expensive" - a Union Minister's comment on Rs 15 a piece corn cob sold by a roadside seller in Madhya Pradesh has drawn opposition ire. Faggan Singh Kulaste, was seen trying to bargain his way out of having to pay Rs 45 for three corn cob pieces, in a video that he himself shared on Twitter.

Mr Kulaste, a BJP leader, was seen giving detailed instructions on how to prepare the corns for him but was taken aback when the seller quoted Rs 45 for three pieces.

"Rs 45? It's too expensive," Mr Kulaste, Minister of State in the ministry of Steel, said. To which, the corn seller, with a smile on his face, replied, "It's the standard rate. I didn't quote an inflated price because you were travelling by a car."

"Corns are available for free here," Mr Kulaste further said. He, however, eventually paid the price asked by the shopkeeper.

"Going from Seoni to Mandla today. Tasted the local corn. All of us should purchase food items from local farmers and shopkeepers. This will ensure employment for them, and unadulterated goods," Mr Kulaste tweeted on Thursday.

आज सिवनी से मंडला जाते हुए। स्थानीय भुट्टे का स्वाद लिया। हम सभी को अपने स्थानीय किसानों और छोटे दुकानदारों से खाद्य वस्तुओं को ख़रीदना चाहिए। जिससे उनको रोज़गार और हमको मिलावट रहित वस्तुएँ मिलेंगी। @MoRD_GoI @BJP4Mandla @BJP4MP pic.twitter.com/aNsLP2JOdU

— Faggan Singh Kulaste (@fskulaste) July 21, 2022

The opposition Congress has criticised the minister for haggling with a roadside seller.

"He is so poor that Rs 15 for a piece of corn is too expensive for him. Image the situation of ordinary citizens, tweeted KK Mishra, chairman, media department, Madhya Pradesh Congress.

Home Minister Narottam Mishra defended Mr Kulaste and said, "He got off his car and spoke to the corn cob seller. He paid much more than he asked for."

The video has come at a time the country is feeling the pinch of price rise and the opposition attacking the government over the issues of hike in GST rates and depreciating value of rupee.