A cropped video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that she does not eat much onion and garlic is being circulated across social media by supporters of opposition parties, to accuse the finance minister of being insensitive towards the issue of soaring onion prices.
In the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, NCP MP Supriya Sule had asked the FM about rising defaults in Mudra loans, about the soaring onion prices and the steps that are being taken by the government to tackle the shortage.
As the Finance Minister began to respond to Supriya Sule’s question, an MP intervened and asked her if she eats onions. To which, Nirmala Sitharaman replied, “I do not eat much garlic or onion, I come from a family where we do not bother much about onions.”
The cropped video of the same, without the questions and the context of the discussion, soon hit the social media platforms to mock her and convey to the public that the Finance Minister was being insensitive to them by stating that the price rise did not bother her as she does not consume onions or garlic.
However, the full unedited video of her address in the Lok Sabha on Thursday reveals that the minister was responding to a specific question asked by an MP, who had interrupted her as she stood up to answer Supriya Sule, asking if she ate onions.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1202296740390539264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Following the false allegations against her, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday stated that her replies on the floor of the Lok Sabha are being quoted out of the context to mislead the public.
Minister Sitharaman also clarified regarding the controversy by stating that she was explaining to the house regarding 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,” said the Finance Minister.
https://twitter.com/nsitharamanoffc/status/1202456435390500864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
On Thursday, the Finance Minister has addressed the Lok Sabha on the issue of rising onion prices. She had said that the government has taken several steps to check rising prices of onion and has initiated steps to improve technology for better storage of the kitchen staple.
She added that the shortage of onions was due to low production and added that there were severe structural problems related to onions. She also said that the government has taken several steps to check rising prices of onion including a ban on exports, the imposition of stock limit, import and transfer of onion from surplus to deficit area.