Why A Trinamool MP Bit Into Brinjal In Parliament

A Trinamool MP stood up in Lok Sabha, flashed a raw brinjal and then took a bite out of it during a discussion on the issue of price rise, underscoring that high gas prices are making cooking prohibitively expensive for the poor.

"I thank the chair for allowing a debate on price rise," Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, adding that it has taken a long time for even the debate to take place.

Coming after suspension of four Congress MPs and continued disruptions that forced two adjournments, the Lok Sabha started debating price rise today. The Congress MPs' suspension was also revoked.

"Does the government want us to eat raw vegetables," she asked. Then bit into a brinjal to show that she means that the cooking gas is so expensive that one will have to resort to this.

"The prices of LPG cylinder have been raised four times in the last few months," she said. "From Rs 600, it is now 1,100."

The MP said the cylinder rates must be scaled back.

In July, cooking gas LPG price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the eighth increase in rates in the last one year.

Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital.

Common households pay non-subsidised rates for the cooking gas they buy after the government restricted subsidy to just poor beneficiaries who got connections under the Ujjwala scheme.