Jaipur: “You won’t die if you don’t eat onions for a few days.” This was Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini’s alleged reply to a question by farmers about rising onion prices.

The remark, made during an informal interaction in Sriganganagar on Friday, triggered a row, with the Opposition Congress slamming the minister for his “insensitivity”.

When contacted, Saini defended his remarks, adding that the government was serious about tackling the issue.

“Although it was made informally, I stand by my statement. Onion is not an essential commodity and it is not like people need to consume it for nutritional purposes. So what if the prices have increased?” Saini said.

“We realise that the rising prices need to be addressed, and we are taking steps to do so, but not being able to eat onions is not such a big issue. Look at the Jains.They do not eat onions during Paryushan parv,” he added.

Saini said his remarks were supposed to be taken in favour of farmers. “What I meant was that whenever prices of farm produce go up even slightly, all hell breaks loose. What about packaged water? Or other FMCG products that are exponentially costlier?” ENS

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