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Journalism of Courage
GANDHINAGAR, June 21: The Gujarat government8217;s success in persuading the powerful groundnut oil lobby of Saurashtra to slash the prices of edible oil may bring only temporary relief to consumer. For, the voluntary price ceiling is unlikely to hold for long.
At a meeting with oil millers in Rajkot on Saturday, Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh extracted an assurance that they would voluntarily slash the groundnut oil price from the current Rs 51 a kg to Rs 47 a kg. While Singh was negotiating with the millers, he was told that a tin of 15 kg oil fetched Rs 400 extra in neighbouring states.
Moreover, Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has given a clear indication that the government was against any kind of controls. 8220;Such controls do not benefit either the consumer or the producer, but only breed corruption by encouraging hoarding and other malpractices8221;, the Chief Minister told mediapersons last week.
Naturally, therefore, opposition leaders do not pin much hope on the voluntary commitment of millers. Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Brahmkumar Bhatt described is as 8220;an eyewash8221;. Such exercises had been done by many governments in the past, but never worked, he said, and suggested that the government should resort to imports. 8220;It should also effectively use the Prevention of Blackmarketing Act8221;, Bhatt said.
The 8220;voluntary commitment8221; comes after Chief Minister despatched Jaspal Singh to Rajkot for a meeting with the millers following strong criticism of the government by opposition parties for its failure to check the prices of edible oils, particularly groundnut oil which is a popular cooking medium in Gujarat.
Before the BJP government assumed office, groundnut oil was available in the open market at Rs 37 per kg while the current price is Rs 51 per kg. Both the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Party accused the BJP government of being hand-in-glove with oil millers. But more damaging for the BJP was an attempt by Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh to shift the blame onto the Chief Minister.
Singh said Keshubhhi Patel had lifted all restrictions on movement of groundnut oil, fuelling the price rise. He also alleged that senior BJP leaders, including MPs and MLAs, had complained to the Chief Minister when he strictly enforced the condition that the millers should obtain permission of the collectors before moving the stocks to other states.
Jaspal Singh has since disowned his statement, which he had made in the presence of a number of mediapersons. The BJP leadership also seems to be keen to bury the issue. 8220;The minister8217;s explanation was satisfactory and the matter is closed8221;, said Sanjay Joshi, party general secretary, when asked what action was being contemplated against Singh.
At the Rajkot meeting, Singh warned the millers that he would initiate stern action against those indulging in hoarding and blackmarketing. 8220;I fail to understand why the groundnut oil price has kept on skyrocketing when groundnut production in the State has gone up from 24.5 lakh tonnes in the previous year to 26.6 lakh tonnes this year8221;, the minister told the oil millers.
Apparently, the minister seems to be unaware that production in certain other states hasn8217;t been so good. Therefore, edible oil is in short supply in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Gujarat millers have been taking advantage of this shortage. Last month, The Chief Minister wrote to the Centre, seeking duty exemption for import of edible oil to help Gujarat tide over the crisis. But there has been no response.
