Amritsar -Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla sat on a protest dharna at Ram Talai Chowk on Thursday, accusing the BJP-led Union government of anti-people inflation policies that squeeze both the farmer and the household kitchen. Aujla said onions were being lifted from farmers at around ₹2 a kilogram, only to land on the consumer’s plate at nearly ₹60 a kilogram. “Why is the farmer not getting the full value of his hard work, and why is the common person not getting a fair price?” he asked. The Centre, he said, must explain the gap between the farm gate and the kitchen.The charge lands in a week when onion has already become a national talking point. Retail rates have crossed ₹55–₹60 a kilogram in several cities, even as New Delhi has begun running “Kanda Express” rakes from Nashik and selling buffer stock at a subsidised ₹35 a kilogram through NAFED, NCCF and Kendriya Bhandar outlets.
Officials insist there is no production crunch and blame traders and seasonal tightness. Aujla’s argument was different: if the farmer is still paid a pittance and the housewife still pays a premium, the policy has failed both ends of the chain. He widened the attack to the ethanol blending programme. Two-wheelers and four-wheelers were being damaged, he said, and vehicle owners deserved a clear answer and protection. Congress leaders nationally have pressed the same line on E20 petrol — lower mileage, clogged injectors, worn rubber parts in older vehicles.
The Union government has rejected claims of widespread engine failure, citing service data from more than 23 crore vehicles. On the ground in Amritsar, Aujla framed it as a pocket-book issue: costly fuel, costly repairs, and no relief on vegetables.“Inflation is not just a statistic,” he said. “It is a question of the kitchen of every home and the budget of every family.” It was the government’s duty, he added, to ensure a fair price for the crop and a fair price for the consumer.Senior Congress office-bearers and district workers joined the sit-in. Party workers described the dharna as part of a continuing struggle for farmers and ordinary households against what they called the Centre’s anti-people policies.
No disruption of traffic beyond the usual protest footprint at Ram Talai Chowk was reported.Aujla, the third-term Lok Sabha member from Amritsar, has used similar platforms before — grain mandis, budget debates, local marches to tie Punjab’s farm distress to national price rise. Thursday’s protest put two of the most visible current complaints on one stage: the onion that has doubled in many markets, and the petrol blend that millions of two-wheeler owners now argue over at the pump.Whether New Delhi answers the ₹2-versus-₹60 question in the language of mandi spreads, or only with more subsidised vans, will decide if this remains a local Congress dharna or another week of kitchen politics.Source: Punjab Outlook — www.punjaboutlook.com