Onions can bring down govt, Stalin warns AIADMK

“Other States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, West Bengal and Odhisa have taken steps to reduce the prices to about Rs 40 per kilogram. However, the Tamil Nadu government has not taken any measures,” the DMK leader said.

Stating that skyrocketing onion price has caused severe hardship among common people, Stalin said that the public will lose faith in it if the State government do not take steps to reduce the price with immediate effect. Recalling Food and Civil Supplies Minister R Kamaraj’s claim that onion is available at ration shops, the DMK leader said, “If that was the case, why would the general public complain that the prices have not been reduced.”

Claiming that several State governments had lost power in the past after failing control onion prices, Stalin pointed out that the late Congress leader Indira Gandhi exploited onion prices to coming back to power in 1980. “Likewise, in 1998, the BJP government, too, lost the elections in Delhi due to high onion prices”, he said.

Demanding that the State government should ensure easy availability of onion at affordable prices, he said that the government does not have a concrete plan. “Executing a proper plan to set up huge food processing warehouses across the State to stock onion will solve the crisis,” he said, adding that if authorities execute proper strategy, the prices could be controlled easily. Stalin added that apart from onion, prices of other essential commodities such as garlic, drumstick and cooking oil were also on the rise.