Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Tuesday raised an objection to BJD president and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, writing a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the potato crisis in the State. The minister was replying during a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion over the price rise of essential commodities.
He rejected allegations of the Opposition BJD and Congress that the State’s BJP government has failed to check the price rise of essential commodities, including vegetables, potatoes and onions. In his reply, the minister said he had come to know that the Leader of Opposition had written a letter to Banerjee over the issue.
“This is kind of cheap politics and the drama should stop. Our Chief Minister has met Mamata Banerjee and spoken to her over her decision to stop the supply of potatoes, following which its transportation has normalised,” the minister said.
Patra also accused the BJD president of failing to make the State self-sufficient in the production of potatoes, onions and other essential items during his 24-year rule.”You (Patnaik) are not in a position to write letters. The people of the State have rejected you and installed a BJP government… Nothing will happen by writing letters. Crises are not solved by writing letters,” he said.
“During its rule, the BJD failed to set up an adequate number of cold storage in the State because of which farmers failed to preserve their products,” Patra alleged.
Odisha was reeling under an acute potato crisis with prices spiralling to Rs 70 per kg due to West Bengal’s ban on the supply of the tuber to other States.Patnaik had on July 26 written a letter to Banerjee requesting her intervention to resolve the crisis.
Participating in the debate, former minister and BJD MLA Niranjan Pujari came down heavily on the BJP government and accused it of having no control over the market, as a result of which “unscrupulous traders loot the consumers”.
“The poor man eats rice, onions, potatoes and tomatoes. The prices of all these items have gone beyond the reach of poor people. Similarly, middle class consumes rice, dal, vegetables and potatoes.
The price of good quality pulses is Rs 180 while the price of edible oil is about Rs 150. How can the people survive?” Pujari questioned.
Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik, senior BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera, Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra and other Opposition leaders criticised the BJP government for the price rise.
Patra, however, rejected the criticism, claiming that price rise was a pan-India phenomenon and not limited to Odisha. Odisha is dependent on other States for potatoes, onions, oil, pulses and other items. Prices of some items have gone up due to inadequate production at the source States, he said.
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