Can an elected government's ego outweigh the welfare of citizens? It seems that's the case in Delhi, if the letters written to Delhi government by Central government and its agency Nafed are to be believed. Aaj Tak is in possession of these letters.

The price of onions has gone up to Rs 60 per kg in Delhi. But that is just one side of the story. For the past three months, Central government agency Nafed and the Union ministry of agriculture constantly wrote to Delhi government alerting it about the imminent price rise of onions and potatoes. The agency also suggested that the government should stock up by buying the onions at Rs 19 per kg. However, the Delhi government did not bother to reply to these letters, according to Nafed's nominated director Ashok Thakur. He accused the Delhi government of not paying any heed to Nafed's offer, thereby forcing Delhi residents to buy onions at Rs 60 per kg in the open market.

But Delhi government tried to justify its inaction. The government said: "It is shocking that Nafed, which had asked the Delhi government in its letter dated 24 July, 2015 to make an advance payment in case it wanted to buy onions procured by Nafed at Nashik, is now misleading the public by allowing the political nominees to make confusing statements." Interestingly, while Delhi government responded in connection with the July 24 letter, it has remained silent about the letters written to it on April 13 and June 18.

In these letters Nafed clearly asked Delhi government to buy onions and potatoes under the Central government's PSF (Price Stabilisation Fund). "In April this year, Nafed told Delhi government that they could buy onions from us between Rs 19 and Rs 25 per kg. But, there was no response from Delhi government," Thakur alleged in an interview to Aaj Tak.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP leader Kuljeet Chahal said this episode indicated how egoistic Kejriwal government has become. Amid all this Delhi government has decided to sell onions at Rs 40 per kg at its fair price shops from Monday.