Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a swipe at the rising price of tomatoes, saying the vegetable seller started calling themselves ‘Tunar’ in line with ‘Sunar’ (Goldsmith). The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister tweeted a sarcastic video in which the seller of the tomatoes is seen taking property documents as mortgage to sell the vegetable.
“I have heard that a tomato seller has changed his name to 'Tunar', he says that when the seller of expensive gold is called 'Sunar' then why can't we tomato sellers be called 'Tunar'… Anyway, now we will tell the price of tomato in ‘tola’, so that the customer does not faint. 'Tunar' also says that 'Tarrafa' (Sarafa Bazaar is a jewellery market) market should also be made for tomatoes in high-security zone like a bullion market,” he tweeted.
'Tomato prices have made you go red in the face': Akhilesh tells Yogi
Earlier on Friday, Yadav targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the price of tomatoes in the state assembly.
The Leader of the Opposition said the issue of tomatoes makes the BJP leader go "red in the face" and suggested that the government should set up a “saand safari” – a safari park to watch bulls – in Adityanath’s home district.
Yadav referred to the recent arrest of two party workers in Varanasi after a video on tomato prices surfaced on social media. It showed two men claimed to be “bouncers” at a vegetable shop, purportedly guarding tomatoes.
“A shopkeeper found a way to wake the government up [on tomato prices] by opening up a tomato shop. You not only jailed him, you also sent his father to jail. Is this democracy?" Yadav said.
"You felt the need to use force just because our SP workers said that tomatoes may need Z-plus security?” he added.
“The state government has been forced to set up tomato stalls in Noida, Ghaziabad and you talk of a 1 trillion dollar economy,” the former CM said.
The SP chief said "hatred, corruption, unemployment and inflation" has become its new identity.
Yadav also asked how the government plans to become a trillion dollar economy without improving the agriculture sector.
(With PTI inputs)
