Sitharaman says her 'don't eat onion' comment quoted out of context

Under attack for her comment in Parliament stating that she did not eat onions Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that her remark was taken "out of context."

Sitharaman's office tweeted a video of her speech "explaining in detail the steps taken by the government to control onion prices and provide relief to the common man".

"A part of this video clip is being quoted out of context and is misleading," the tweet read.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister yesterday said that she doesn't eat much of onion or garlic and hails from a family where these two vegetables are not much in use.

"I don't eat much of onion-garlic. I come from such a family which doesn't have much to do with onion", she said while speaking on onion price issue.

Earlier today, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram who attended Parliament after his release on bail after 106 days in jail took a jibe at Sitharaman for her remark and wondered whether she ate avocado instead.

"The Finance Minister said yesterday that she doesn't eat onions, so what does she eat? Does she eat avocado?" Chidambaram, who stepped out of jail in INX Media case yesterday, quipped.

During her reply yesterday, Sitharaman elaborated on the government's policy for the benefit of onion farmers.

"From 2014, I have been part of some group of ministers which monitors the up's and down in onion market. Sometimes when there is a surplus of the crop, we have also facilitated by giving support to those people who want to import. I have overnight passed orders for helping with 5 to 7 per cent assistance for exporting", she said.

Sitharaman, who was replying to the debate on the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2019-20 also said that onion price surge was due to factors such as a reduction in the area of cultivation and production.