'Modi once said onion is vital, should be kept in locker': Sena's dig on price rise

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre over the spike in the onion prices and the state of the Indian economy.

In its mouthpiece Saamna, the Sena stated, "At present, the economy is slowing down. But the government is not ready to accept. The prices of onion have reached Rs 200 per kilogram. The Finance Minister has also given a very childish answer on this issue. She said I do not eat onion-garlic, so do not ask me about onions. It seems the Prime Minister has no desire to resolve this issue."

"When Modi was not the Prime Minister he had expressed concern over the rising prices of onions. While he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat he had stated that onion is a vital vegetable and added that the vegetable should be kept in the locker. Today, his policy has changed. Modi is now the Prime Minister and the economy is collapsing. Earlier, an unconscious person was cured with the smell of the onion. But that it not even possible now as the edible bulb has disappeared from the market," the editorial read.

"Pandit Nehru (Jawaharlal Nehru) and Indira Gandhi cannot be held responsible for the apocalyptic destruction of the country's economy. The present government is not in a mood to listen to the experts. For them, the economy is like a stock market that has become speculative."

The former ally also raked up the issue of demonetization and said, " Very few people make decisions in the Prime Minister's Office. These decisions are valid for their political and social programmes of the ruling party. But their decisions have marginalised the economic reforms. While taking decisions, such as demonetization, the Finance Minister of the country was kept in dark and also the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India protested, later he was removed."

The Shiv Sena also slammed the Centre for not doing enough to combat the menace of poverty.

"This time in the Global Hunger Index, out of 107 countries India has been positioned at 102. In 2014, India was in the 55th position and in the last five years, poverty has increased in the country while in the neighboring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan it has reduced. There no work in the hands of the people and no food in their stomach. This is the condition of the common people of our country but the rulers are calling it development. Our economy is sick, but the Modi government is not ready to accept this either."