Women MPs of the Congress — Chhaya Verma, Amee Yajnik and party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate — said here on Friday that the skyrocketing prices of onions have destabilised the family budgets of poor and middle class households.

Talking to reporters in Parliament, they said the Centre is favouring hoarders and not farmers and that is the reason why prices are high.

“In 1981 – our country produced 2.3 million tonnes of onion which rose to almost 23 millions in 2017 and now we find on the usage that we use almost about 23 to 24 million tonnes of onions in the country. The issue here is that Consortium of Indian Farmers Association or Competition Commission of India have said that farmers are getting only ₹8 to ₹9 per kilo for onions, which they grow. But, when it comes to marketing, beyond ₹100 and on one hand we are talking of importing onions from outside,” Yajnik said.

She said the Centre has “failed utterly” in this issue. She said the Centre knows the problem about the hoarders, but not cracking on the storage houses. “Neither you have a short term policy nor you have long term policy for onion, you want to make it a political issue so that all other issues are forgotten,” she added. “What is the Government going to tell about, this is a very simple issue but it is an issue to divert from the main issues, not to solve the issues of the farmers but to protect the hoarders,” she asked.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the BJP’s tears have dried up and that is why the ruling party is unable to see the tears of farmers and common people. “Onion prices have touched sky. The issue is that the eyes of farmers are filled with tears because they did not get a fair amount for what they produced and the consumers are crying because the prices are very high,” Vadra said.

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