The BJP on Wednesday alleged that the Agriculture and Food Supplies Ministry itself was responsible for the skyrocketing sugar prices and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the “sugar scam.”
Speaking to journalists at the party office here, BJP Maharashtra vice-president Kirit Somaiya claimed, “With an opening stock of 80 lakh tonnes and a projected production of 147 lakh tonnes, the availability of sugar for 2009 would be 227 lakh tonnes. India’s annual consumption is 225 lakh tonnes. There is ample sugar available in the market, but the Ministry is creating a fear of scarcity leading to the hike the prices.”
Dr. Somaiya added: “On August 4, the Indian Sugar Mills Association made a statement saying that there was no need to fear sugar shortage. However, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar keeps making statements about future shortage of sugar.”
He said the beneficiaries of the rise in sugar prices (from Rs. 18.50 a kg in September 2008 to Rs. 36 a kg in September 2009) were multinational companies trading in sugar and the commodity exchange market. He demanded that 17 essential items be taken off the Commodity Exchange Market.
