Bengal MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato Accuses Mamata Banerjee of Onion Price Scam
West Bengal MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato has written to the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, asking for an investigation into the rising onion prices in Bengal. He claims that the state government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is manipulating the market for political and personal gains.
In his letter, Mahato describes the situation as ‘Mamata’s Onion Scam,’ alleging that the recent reopening of the Jharkhand-West Bengal border has not stopped the price surge. He states that onion prices have reached Rs745 to Rs760 per kilogramme due to deliberate market manipulation by Banerjee’s administration.
Mahato accuses politically connected hoarders, who are close to Banerjee and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), of using the border blockade to create an artificial scarcity of onions. He claims this violates the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.
According to Mahato, the flood situation cited for the border closure was a pretext to manipulate the onion supply. He argues that the closure allowed hoarders to stockpile onions and drive up prices, causing hardship for consumers already facing high living costs.
Mahato urges the Centre to investigate the scam, enforce penalties, release buffer stocks, and regulate the market. He criticizes Banerjee’s government for prioritizing political gains over public welfare and calls for accountability for those involved in the price manipulation.
Mahato concludes his letter by expressing confidence in the ministry’s ability to protect consumers and bring relief to the people of West Bengal.
Doubts Revealed
MP -: MP stands for Member of Parliament. It’s a person who has been elected to represent people in the Parliament, which is a place where laws are made.
Jyotirmay Singh Mahato -: Jyotirmay Singh Mahato is a politician from West Bengal, which is a state in India. He is a Member of Parliament (MP).
Mamata Banerjee -: Mamata Banerjee is the Chief Minister of West Bengal. A Chief Minister is like the head of the government in a state.
Onion Price Scam -: A scam is when someone cheats or tricks people to get money or benefits. Here, it means that someone might be making onion prices very high on purpose to gain something.
Pralhad Joshi -: Pralhad Joshi is a Minister in the Indian government. Ministers are people who help run the country by managing different areas like education, health, or in this case, prices of things.
Rs745-760 per kilogramme -: Rs745-760 per kilogramme means that the price of one kilogram of onions is between 745 and 760 rupees. Rupees (Rs) is the money used in India.
Hoarders -: Hoarders are people who collect and keep a lot of something, like onions, to create a shortage and then sell it at a higher price.
Artificial scarcity -: Artificial scarcity means making something look like it’s not available much, even if it is, to make people pay more for it.
Essential commodity laws -: Essential commodity laws are rules made by the government to make sure important things like food are available to everyone at fair prices.
Market regulation -: Market regulation means making rules to control how things are bought and sold to make sure it’s fair for everyone.
Accountability -: Accountability means making sure people are responsible for their actions, especially if they do something wrong.