MLA Vanathi Srinivasan has questioned whether the centre should be blamed for the rise in prices of tomatoes and small onions due to sudden rains and crop failure. "The DMK government is only concerned about how to save Senthil Balaji.”
Coimbatore: Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan has questioned whether she is trying to get away with blaming the central government for the rise in tomato prices.
Vanathi Srinivasan, national president of the BJP's women's wing and MLA of Coimbatore South assembly constituency, said in a statement.
Due to various reasons, including sudden rains and crop failures, the prices of essential commodities, including tomatoes and small onions, which are widely used by the people, have gone up drastically. Due to this, the people of Tamil Nadu have been severely affected.
Unable to deal with this, the DMK government, as usual, is trying to escape by blaming the central government. The DMK government, which has to worry about the people, is only worried about saving minister Senthil Balaji, who has been arrested in a corruption case and is in hospital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government has completed nine years and entered its 10th year. India has emerged as the fifth economy in the world to successfully overcome unforeseen crises such as the global economic slowdown and the Covid-19 disaster. In 2004, when the Vajpayee-led BJP government bid farewell, the price of petrol was Rs 34 per litre.
But in 2014, when the Congress-DMK coalition government bid farewell, the price of petrol rose to Rs 72 per litre. After 9 years, now the price of petrol is Rs 96 per litre (in many states like Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry).
Petrol price in Tamil Nadu is higher than that of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry due to taxes imposed by the DMK government. Rs 6 is higher at Rs 102. The per capita income has increased from Rs 74,920 in 2013-14 to Rs 1.72 lakh in 2023.
Average retail inflation in India rose to 8.7 per cent during the 2005-2014 Congress-DMK coalition government. However, it was restricted to 4.8 per cent under the BJP rule. This is because of the corruption-free, transparent and efficient administration of the BJP government at the Centre.
Tamil Nadu is moving towards a situation where the people of Tamil Nadu have to depend on other states for essential commodities like rice, toor dal and tomatoes which are widely used by the people of the state.
If the prices of perishable commodities such as tomatoes, onions, vegetables fall for a year, many farmers avoid cultivating them the next year. During non-monsoon seasons, sudden rains also destroy the crops. This is also the reason for the price rise.
To avoid this, the Government of Tamil Nadu should take steps to make vegetables, including tomatoes, available at a reasonable price at all times. For this, bathing godowns should be set up in all the districts. The farmers should be provided with technical facilities to protect the crops from getting damaged due to unseasonal rains.
Farmers should be encouraged to produce whatever food items are required by the people of Tamil Nadu. If the farmers want to get a good price, the Tamil Nadu government should procure the produce from them and sell it in the ration shops.
Instead of palm oil imported from abroad, coconut oil can be procured and supplied in Tamil Nadu itself. Pulses like toor dal and urad dal can also be procured from the farmers of Tamil Nadu and distributed at Roshan shops.
If such measures are taken, the farmers will also be benefited. The prices of essential commodities will also come down and people will benefit.
People will not believe it if they think that they can get away with blaming the central government. So this is the age of technology. What's the truth? What's the lie? People will know that very well.
Therefore, the DMK government should take concrete steps to prevent political and price rise in prices of essential commodities, including tomatoes, and to prevent such a situation in the future. This is what she said in the statement.