For the past year, food prices have gone up - potato prices have doubled and significant increases can be seen in vegetable (23%), sugar (45%) and wheat (13.22%) prices.
Moong and Arhar, two staple dals, have even been taken out of the plans to reintroduce pulses in government outlets that sell foodstuff at subsidised rates, since the prices for both are very likely to cross the Rs100-per-kg mark.
The government attributes this sharp price hike to the worst dry spell some parts of the country has seen in four years, along with floods in other part of India, which have hurt farm outputs.
Today, on November 19, farmers from across the country are congregating in the national capital in an attempt to stall proceedings during Parliament's winter session to protest against high sugarcane prices.
Considering that the common man now more than ever cannot put food on the table, shouldn't the government take measures to reduce food prices instead of raising them? Is the Centre really living up to its ideology of putting the aam aadmi first?
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