Pawar responsible for rising prices: Ajit Singh

New Delhi, 9 Feb: RLD chief Ajit Singh today held Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar responsible for the rising prices of essential commodities and accused him of creating sugar scarcity by exporting it when production fell.

"Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is responsible for the price rise," Singh said while speaking to reporters here.

In 2007-08 there was excess production of sugar in the country and the following year when its production fell, government exported it, leading to its scarcity, he said.

"Pawar this way created scarcity of sugar and now the government is importing raw sugar, which has led to its high prices," he said, adding moreover, his party, NCP, advises people to stop consuming sugar.

NCP's mouthpiece Rashtravadi had yesterday in its editorial said, "no one dies due to not eating sugar. On the other hand, by eating items made from sugar, diabetes increases. So, it is not necessary that everyone consume sugar".

"This is indeed positive thinking on part of Pawar. He should come up with such pearls of wisdom on a weekly basis as we don't know how many commodities may become dearer in future and we may have to give them up also," Singh said.

Singh wondered why government was importing raw sugar when there is adequate sugarcane stock available in the country and should have waited for it to get exhausted first.

"Government should bridge the wide gap which exists between prices of commodities from the time they leave the fields and reach the markets. Middlemen should be curbed and forward trading should immediately be banned," the RLD chief said.

(PTI)