Politics in Maharashtra heats up over rising onion prices; Congress, NCP attack Centre

MUMBAI: Onions are once again bringing tears in poll-bound Maharashtra as retail prices crossed Rs 60 per kilo in Mumbai on Thursday.

The Congress and NCP government in Maharashtra tore into the Modi government’s decision to bring onions and potatoes under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and separate these items from the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), terming it a politically motivated and anti-farmer move.

Maharashtra’s Agriculture Minister and Congress heavyweight Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil attacked the Modi government on Thursday, saying the central government is trying to show that it is trying to check prices, but its measures are only hurting the farmers.

“The BJP came to power claiming that it will control inflation but that hasn’t happened. And now it is holding the state government responsible for rising onion prices when the Centre should take responsibility. Measures like delinking onions from the APMC trade or increase in export prices will not help. Wrong policies will hurt the onion farmers badly. BJP should not politicise the issue,” Vikhe-Patil said.
Despite the Centre’s decision to raise the Minimum Export Price (MEP) to $500 per tonne, the prices in the retail market have continued to rise, the minister said.

“This is not because of hoarding, but due to fall in production. We have taken all measures to make sure that there’s no hoarding and have set up special squads to prevent it. The responsibility cannot be just passed on to the state government because it’s a Congress-ruled government,” he fumed.

In Mumbai’s retail market, onion prices crossed Rs 60 per kilo on Thursday as fewer stocks arrived. Rumours about delayed monsoon affecting the onion crop further increased prices, according to some retailers.

Sharad Pawar’s NCP, which controls many APMC markets in the state, criticised the government’s decision to keep onions and potatoes away from the APMC trade.

“We suspect that this decision has been taken to please some corporates who have entered the retail business. If APMC is refused the right to stock onions, then some multi-brand retailers should not be allowed to stock up onions too,” said Nawab Malik, NCP’s national spokesperson.

Maharashtra produces over 29% of the nation’s annual onion crop and is likely to produce close to 35 lakh tonnes of onions this year.

Onion trade is a booming business in north Maharashtra and also in many districts of western Maharashtra which is the bastion of Pawar’s NCP.

According to onion farmers, the main reason for the price rise is hoarding by traders. The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, claimed that state politicians are over-reacting to the Centre’s measures only because their interests have been hurt.

“Our decisions are in the interest of consumers as well as farmers. We will do everything possible to control illegal hoarding of onions,” said BJP’s state spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.