Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday hit out at the Narendra Modi government at the Centre over inflation and unemployment as tomato prices touched ₹160 per kg in Visakhapatnam.
Retail tomato prices have shot up to ₹155 per kg across major cities in the country due to the supply disruption caused due to rain in the producing region, as per the official data. In metros, retail tomato prices were ruling in the range of ₹58-148 per kg, with the highest in Kolkata at ₹148 per kg and lowest in Mumbai at ₹58 per kg.
In Delhi and Chennai, prices were ruling at ₹110 per kg and 117 per kg, respectively. As per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry, the average all-India retail price was ₹83.29 per kg, with a modal price of ₹100 per kg.
“Due to the loot of the Modi government, both inflation and unemployment are increasing continuously. But the BJP is engrossed in the greed of power. The prices of vegetables are skyrocketing. The unemployment rate in the country has gone up to 8.45%. The unemployment rate in villages is 8.73%,” Kharge tweeted in Hindi.
The Congress veteran also alleged that the government was trying to hide its failures under advertisements.
“The people of the country know that before the elections, you were working on slogans like ‘Acche Din’, ‘Amrit Kaal’ so that your failures can be hidden with the help of advertisements,” Kharge said.
He added, “But this time, it will not happen, the public has become aware and will answer your hollow slogans by voting against the BJP.”
Vegetable prices in Patna have increased significantly since the beginning of May. While the maximum hike has been in the price of tomatoes, the prices of other vegetables have also shot up, including cauliflower, cabbage, lady finger, etc. The price of cauliflower touched ₹60 per kg, up from ₹40 per kg in early May. Similarly, price of cabbage has gone up to ₹60/kg from ₹30-40 per kg mark, price of potato and onion witnessed a slight rise from ₹20 per kg in early May to ₹30 per kg in July.
Vegetable prices have skyrocketed in West Bengal as well with chillies and tomatoes seeing a steep increase of more than 200 per cent in the past fortnight, news agency PTI reported.
Tomatoes, which used to sell for ₹40 to ₹50 per kg a couple of weeks ago, now cost ₹130-150. Green chillies are now selling for ₹300-350 per kg, up from ₹150 per kg a week ago. Other veggies have witnessed a 30-50 per cent price rise.
The situation is no different in the districts where prices of vegetables have shot through the roof, a traders’ body official said.
West Bengal Vendors Association president Kamal Dey said the price rise was due to extreme heat and lack of rain. “The crops have dried and wilted, leading to a shortage of vegetables,” he said.
