New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday remarked that she does not eat much of onion or garlic, as Opposition MPs interrupted her during a discussion in the Lok Sabha over the rising onion prices.
Sitharaman said her family did not consume much onion Her remarks about personal eating habits came while responding to interruptions by some opposition members at a time when she was speaking on the onion issue.
"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.
Prior to it, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule had raised the issue of NPAs and onion farmers.
"Why has the production of onion gone down? We export rice and milk and so many other products. Onion grower is a small farmer and he really needs to be protected", Sule had said.
After making a brief admission about not consuming much of onion, Sitharaman elaborated on government's policy for the benefit of onion farmers.
"I must say, from 2014, I have also been part of some of the group of ministers, which monitored the ups and downs in onion markets. Sometimes when there was surplus of crop we have also facilitated by giving support to those people who want to export it. I have overnight past orders for helping with 5-7 per cent assistance for exporting," she said.
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Attributing shortage to low production, the minister said there are severe structural problems related to onions.
"One is we don't have scientifically advanced methods of storing...So that is one of the things, so we need to have greater scientific storage facility for onions we have started working on it...then also to give better storage capacities within that region particularly around Lasalgaon," she said.
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