Congress MLAs stage walkout in Gujarat assembly

GANDHINAGAR, MARCH 21: Opposition Congress members, led by their leader Amarsinh Chaudhary, on Tuesday, staged a walkout in the Gujarat le...

GANDHINAGAR, MARCH 21: Opposition Congress members, led by their leader Amarsinh Chaudhary, on Tuesday, staged a walkout in the Gujarat legislative assembly after question hour, demanding support prices for onions and protesting its decreasing price in the State.

Dissatisfied over the reply of Minister of State for Agriculture, Becharbhai Bhagani, Opposition members rose from their seats and demanded announcement of support price of onions as the price was going down due to ample production this year, denying farmers their due returns.

Pacifying members about the price slump, Bhagani said onion was not an agricultural produce but is being included in vegetable produce. Therefore, the support price had not been fixed. However, Amarsinh Chaudhary went on pressing the government to announce the support price to help thousands of farmers.

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Replying to the call attention motion in the House by Naresh Rawal (Cong), Bhagani said, about 4300 metric tonne of onions were exported recently as there was an ample crop.

Intervening, Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel said the representatives of the onion growers had not demanded the support price for onion produce when they met him. However, the government had written a letter to the Centre for allotment of wagons for the export of onions from Gujarat, he said and added the suggestions of Chaudhary for support price would be taken into consideration.

However, the opposition members walked out of the house raising slogans.