Centre creating onion scarcity in Delhi, says Manish Sisodia

Manish Sisodia urged the Central government to release 10 trucks of onion every day, saying, 'We are well prepared with the complete machinery to sell onions at a lower price'.
BJP leaders Meenakshi Lekhi, Vijay Goel and others staging a protest against the AAP government for failing to bring down onion prices. (File Photo)
BJP leaders Meenakshi Lekhi, Vijay Goel and others staging a protest against the AAP government for failing to bring down onion prices. (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: Blaming the Centre for failing to ensure adequate supply of onions in the national capital, as assured in writing in September, the Delhi government on Sunday said that the Union government was trying to create scarcity of onions here despite having sufficient stocks.

“This issue arose due to either spoilage of onion stocks, due to negligence by the Union government or ill-motivated efforts to benefit the interests of hoarders,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said during a press briefing.

Sisodia said that the Central government had stopped providing onions to the Delhi government in spite of repeated requests for the same. Onion prices have climbed to Rs 75-120 a kilo in major cities across the country.

Sisodia urged the Central government to release 10 trucks of onion every day, saying, “We are well prepared with the complete machinery to sell onions at a lower price”.

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“When the onion prices started to rise, the Central government in September wrote to the Delhi government that they had a 56,000-metric ton stock of onions and asked the state to procure onions as required,” he stated.

The state intimated the Central government that it would procure and distribute 2.5 lakh kilos of onions at a subsidised price in Delhi every day, and asked for the provision of onions on a daily basis until December 9.

“We kept asking for 10 trucks but they gave two, three or four trucks of onion. Maximum it went up to five on certain dates, even though the Centre had 56,000 metric tonne onion,” he said. 

“Not giving onion means that the Central government wants to increase the rates here. The last truck had come on November 24. The single truck that came on November 24 was a smaller one carrying merely around 13,000 kg. Where is the stock of onions that the Union Government claimed in writing on 5 September,  the deputy chief minister said.

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