Rising onion prices alarm govt

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies are gearing up to capitalise the "feel-good factor" by advancing the Lok Sabha polls, the reports of rising onion prices in various parts of the country have alarmed the government.

The food and civil supplies ministry that monitors prices of commodities all over the country is in jitters as it received reports that onion prices are rising in southern states and parts of North India.

Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are aware of the adverse political fallout of the onion prices, only five years back.

In 1998, the BJP had lost Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi because of the rise in onion prices.

Sources in the government said given the political sensitivity of the issue, the food ministry had asked Nafed to stop export of onions immediately and divert the supply to meet the domestic demand.

But Nafed's response that it could not comply with the order because it would have to honour the commitments made earlier, had compounded the problem.

The food ministry has also approached the commerce ministry to stop the export of onions to pre-empt the possibility of a political embarrassment on the eve of elections.

Food ministry officials, however, said the supply of onions had been disrupted because of fog all over the northern region.

But the shortfall in southern states indicated a demand-supply gap, they admitted.