Artificial potato scarcity made to blame BJP govt, says Odisha Minister

In view of the unprecedented price rise of potato in Odisha, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra has made an explosive statement on Thursday.

According to Minister Patra, an artificial scarcity of potatoes was made in a bid to blemish the government. He further said that he is clueless about the politics by West Bengal Chief Minister on why did she refuse to stop the supply of potatoes in the first place and later agreed to restore the supply of the essential kitchen item.

The Minister ensured that the price of potato has become normal in the market now and will be further reduced in the coming days. 

“The artificial scarcity of potatoes was made to blemish the government. The West Bengal Chief Minister initially refused to continue the supply. However, she agreed to restore the supply later. I don’t know why she is resorting to this kind of politics,” said Food and Civil Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra.

Read Also: West Bengal potato traders call off strike; crisis to ease in Odisha!

“We don’t have scarcity of potatoes anymore. When the availability reduces, a price rise occurs. Now, we have sufficient availability of potatoes in the market and the price has become almost normal. It will be reduced further in the coming days,” the Minister added.

In response, Opposition BJD said that the Minister is trying to hide his inefficiency by giving this kind of statement.

“It seems the minister’s potato hangover has not gone yet. No other minister has given such cheap statements like him on potatoes. His stament that artificial scarcity of potatoes has been created for political gain is condemnable. He is trying to hide his inefficiency by giving this kind of statement,” said BJD leader Goutam Buddha Das.

Earlier, the Minister had said that Odisha would not make any requests to the West Bengal government to supply the tuber.

The statement from the Minister came just two days after the West Bengal government halted all potato exports from its side. The decision had led to several potato-laden trucks being stranded along the West Bengal-Odisha border.