Pulses heat up Bihar poll battle as Agri Min takes potshots at Nitish

“We had written six letters to the state government regarding the price stabilisation fund, which said the state government should buy pulses on increased price, but should provide it at minimal cost to consumers and the margin would be paid back to them by the Centre,” Singh said in Patna.

“Many states sent their proposals and the Centre paid them back, but the Bihar Chief Minister was in slumber, as he is preparing to bring the Jungle Raj in the state,” said Singh, who is pulling out all stops to make the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) register a mammoth victory in Bihar Assembly polls.

“Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi and West Bengal, which used the ‘Price Stabilisation Fund’, are selling pulses at Rs 120 to Rs 130 per kg through retail outlets,” he said. 

The Price Stabilisation Fund is raised by the state to which the Centre contributes 50 per cent of the money.

Singh also said that ministry of consumer affairs had also written four letters to the state government. “Other states have opened retail outlets and are providing pulses at lower prices to people,” he added.

The Agriculture Minister said he had received a letter from the Bihar government on Monday, adding that, “Surprisingly, it was for the price of onions and not pulses, so Kumar is solely responsible for the rising pulses prices in Bihar.”

The Agriculture Minister, accompanied by Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was replying to Nitish Kumar  who had pointed fingers at the Central government for the price rise, particularly that of pulses.

“The production of pulses saw a steady decline in Bihar since 2012-13 but it did not take appropriate measures to boost its production despite assistance from the Centre,” Singh said.

Kumar had on Monday used Modi’s ‘na khauanga na khane doonga’ remark over the spiraling prices of pulses. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Lalu Prasad Yadav has also been frequently referring to the issue in election meetings, saying, “Pulses have vanished from the plate of the poor due to the rise  in their prices.”

Paswan charged Kumar with not taking appropriate steps to contain the prices of pulses with an aim to sullying the image of the Modi government during polls. 

“The Bihar government could have imported pulses if it had any concern for the people as there is ‘zero’ import duty on it. Who had stopped the state government from importing pulses?” Paswan asked.

Meanwhile, Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “rising” prices of tur dal and questioned BJP’s “silence” now as the party had staged agitations on the issue when UPA was in power. 

“Tur dal prices have now risen to more than Rs 200 (per kg). When tur dal prices were ruling at Rs 70-Rs 80 (per kg during the previous UPA rule) Narendra Modiji and the BJP staged agitations in the entire country. Today, the entire BJP is silent,” All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijay Singh said.