No scarcity of onions in Delhi, prices to come down: Sheila Dikshit

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday accused opposition parties in Delhi of politicising the price rise of key commodities to garner support, and added that prices of daily household consumption supplies will depreciate within a few days.

"The government has been regularly intervening to bring down the prices of essential commodities, including onions, Atta, pulses, potatoes, etc. from time to time. Our government is taking action as per the responsibilities entrusted to it by people, whereas the major opposition party and a new party striving to join the electoral battle have been selling onions at limited number of places to gain the sympathy of the people. They are going all out to politicise an issue which is presently affecting citizens," Dikshit said at a press conference today.

"Ours is a sensitive government. |Hence, it acted swiftly on taking note of soaring onion prices, and with its timely intervention, the price slashed from Rs. 80-90 per kg to Rs. 45-50 per kg within shortest possible time," she added.

Saying that Delhi is not an agriculture producing state and, thus, has to depend on other states for all its vegetables and other key commodities, Dikshit assured that there is no shortage in supply of onions in Delhi and that the price of the commodity is likely to fall in the next few days.

"Even today, the availability is 3200 tonnes against the demand of 1000 tonnes. The prices in the wholesale market in Nasik, Maharashtra has also come down and has been hovering at between Rs.30 to Rs.35. The outlets arranged by the city government has been selling onions around Rs. 45 per kilogram," Dikshit said.

"With enhanced arrival expected, the rates may vary between Rs.35 to Rs.40 per kg tomorrow. The government expects that the rates would stabilize soon and may hover between Rs.30 to Rs.35 per kg in couple of days," she added.

Dikshit declared that the government would continue to provide a helping hand to the citizens as and when they feel that prices are badly pinching their pockets and added that the government has put in place a mechanism, which would automatically act on unusual fluctuation in the markets.

The UPA-led government has faced severe criticism, after the country faced drastic inflation of key commodities amidst the falling value of the rupee.

On Monday, the rupee hit a record low of 63.30 to the dollar despite measures taken in recent weeks by the RBI and Central Government to defend it.

The rupee ended at 63.13/14, down 2.3 percent, which was its biggest single-day fall since September 22, 2011.