Govt releasing one lakh tonne of onion buffer stock — Narendra Singh Tomar

Indore, Oct 29 (PTI): Amid the soaring prices of onion, Union Agriculture Minister has said one lakh tonne of buffer stock of the key kitchen staple is being released by the government to provide relief to people.

He was talking to reporters on Wednesday after taking part in a rally in Dharampuri town of Indore district ahead of the November 3 bypolls to 28 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh.

“The government has already taken cognisance of the issue of rising prices of onion and its one lakh tonne of buffer stock is being released through NAFED,” Tomar said.

“We had imposed a ban on the export of onion from the country well in time and opened routes for its import,” the minister said.

NCP chief and former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday blamed the central government’s policies for the rising prices of onion, and said he would speak to the Centre about the stock limit imposed on the commodity traders.

Referring to Congress’s protests on the new farm laws, Tomar accused the opposition party of having double standards.

In its 2019 Lok Sabha poll manifesto, the Congress promised to make trade free of regulations, he said.

The Congress had also said it would encourage inter- state trade, discontinue the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs), give encouragement to contract farming and end the Essential Commodities Act, he said.

“But it was unable to do these things because of pressure from middlemen,” the minister claimed.

“The BJP-led government framed new laws for agriculture reforms. Therefore, the Congress is now suffering from stomachache,” he added.

The Union minister was in Indore to address a rally in support of the state’s water resources minister Tulsiram Silawat, who is contesting the bypoll from Sanver Assembly seat here.