Onion crisis created artificially: MPs to JS

Senior treasury and opposition bench lawmakers today strongly criticised government for their failure to check the skyrocketed price of onion.

They said that people of the country were aggrieved over the skyrocketed price of the daily necessary item as onion price is increasing every day.

Government’s failure to check the price of onion will bring negative reaction among people, the MPs said while talking in point of order.

They also said that there was no shortage of onions in the market and the crisis was artificially created and there was a “conspiracy”.

Treasury bench MPs proposed for cancelling all kind of duties in importing onions for some time while opposition MPs urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to “take personal initiative” to import onion from India.

Awami League senior parliamentarian Mohammad Nasim asked why the price of onion is increasing every day. Commerce minister [Tipu Munshi] and finance minister [AHM Mustafa Kamal] are saying that onion is being imported, then why the price of daily necessary essential is shooting up”.

“It is not understandable for us. It is tarnishing our image. It will be bad for us if people start to react,” said Nasim who launched the criticism in point of order.

“When commerce minister [Tipu Munshi] make statement that price of a kg onion will not come down to Tk 100, then businessmen get the opportunity,” he said.

Nasim urged commerce and finance ministers to take effective steps and be more active to check price hike of onion.

He also demanded the finance minister’s statement at parliament in this regard.

Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce Chairman Tofail Ahmed said that onion price further increased as fall out of cyclone Bulbul. “I am really saddened to say that the price of a kg is now Tk 200. We have never thought that price of a KG onion will reach to Tk 200,” he said.

Sharing his experience as former commerce minister Tofail said that usually they estimated the annual demand and production of onion and it possible shortage and take necessary steps to import onion from Egypt, Myanmar and Turkey.  

He urged finance minister to withdraw all kinds of duties in importing onion for time being to check the crisis.

“If you make the announcement of the withdrawal of duties to import onion you will see positive impact immediately in the market,” senior AL MP Tofail urged the finance minister.

Jatiya Party MPs Kazi Firoz Rashid and Mujibul Haque both smelt rat on the issue of price hike of onion as there were enough onions in the market.

They both said a quarter is hatching a conspiracy against government to tarnish the image of it.

Mujibul Haque urged Hasina to take personal initiative to import onion from India.