In a bizarre incident, Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar munched on raw brinjal as a mark of protest against the hike in prices of LPG cylinders in the lower house of Parliament on Monday.
Targetting the government in a debate on price rise, she asked whether the government wants people to eat raw vegetables. "Do they want us to eat raw vegetables," she asked during a debate initiated by Congress member Manish Tewari.
Dastidar said that the cost of LPG has risen from Rs 600 to Rs 1,100 per cylinder which has disturbed the budget of a household. Beginning the debate, Tewari had said that during the past 14 months, the inflation rate has been in double digits, making it the highest in 30 years.
He also noted that GST has been increased on daily items like rice, curd, and paneer and unfortunately, even the children have not been spared as stationary prices have also gone up. Speaking in Hindi, he concluded the debate with a Punjabi couplet saying that since demonetisation, the country's economy is on a downward trajectory.
Defending the government, BJP's Nishikant Dubey said in the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, inflation is rising and so is unemployment, but "despite such a bad situation in India, the poor are still getting a two-time meal for free."
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