Stepping up its attack on the Narendra Modi government over the rising prices of vegetables, the Congress on July 4 described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘Mehengaai Man‘ under whose watch essential food items have become unaffordable.
The All India Mahila Congress, led by its chief Netta D’Souza, organised a flash protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) headquarters to demand relief for people from the rising inflation in prices of essential food items. Women leaders also accused the Delhi Police of manhandling and violating laid down protocols while trying to remove them from the protest site.
“Delhi Police under Home Minister Amit Shah does not miss any opportunity to break rules, conventions and procedures laid out in the Police manual to intimidate and harass protesters raising their voice against the Modi government. They have broken all protocols by sending male officers to manhandle Mahila Congress workers protesting intolerable rise in prices of essential commodities,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
Party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate neatly gift wrapped one kilogramme each of tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chillies in a basket, claimed that it cost nearly ₹1,100 and could be good gifting option in the wedding season.
Ms. Shrinate opened her press conference with the story of a “king” whose followers misled people over rising prices and said, “The king whose name is ‘Mehengaai Man’ is Narendra Modi.”
“Does the government care? Is the government taking any steps to reverse the situation, is the government doing anything possible within its rights to bring people relief? I think the answer to all of that is a big ‘no’,” she said.
Referring to the rising prices of vegetables, the Congress spokesperson said tomatoes were being sold for ₹160 per kilo, coriander at ₹200 per kilo, ginger at ₹400 per kilo, and chillies at ₹400 per kilo.
Also read: Tomato prices surge up to ₹140/kg in Delhi-NCR
“The reality is that the prices of spices have gone up. Jeera (cumin seeds) has gone up to ₹800 per kg, and pulses as common as tur or arhar dal are costing anywhere between ₹160 to ₹170 [per kilo]. Prices of rice and wheat have gone up. What about the common man, what about the middle class?” she asked.
Ms. Shrinate cited the example of the Congress governments in Rajasthan and other States providing relief to people from rising prices. ”We ask the government to take immediate steps so that some relief can be brought to the people of this country. We expect the government to rationalise fuel prices. We expect the government to reduce prices so that diesel prices come down, so that prices of vegetables can come down,” she said.
