New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal has called out the Modi Government’s policy decisions for the sharp rise in sugar prices across the country. He revealed diverting sugarcane towards ethanol production reduced sugar output, pushing sugar prices up by ₹20 per kg in just 17 days. The government had promoted ethanol blending in petrol to save foreign exchange spent on oil imports, but the situation has now reached a point where the same foreign exchange may have to be spent on importing sugar. The AAP Chief questioned the government’s decision-making, asking, “Is this a government or a joke? A government fully made of uneducated people.”
In a video message, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said, “It seems as if the Modi Government is a government of completely uneducated people. They do not even know what decisions they are taking and what their consequences will be. They diverted sugarcane cultivation towards ethanol production and started blending ethanol with petrol.”
The AAP Chief continued, “They said this would save petrol and foreign exchange, which we spend on importing oil from other countries. By diverting sugarcane towards ethanol production, the country has faced a severe shortage of sugarcane and sugar. Due to the shortage of sugar, its price has increased by ₹20 per kilogram in the last 17 days. Sugar that was ₹46 per kilogram 17 days ago is now ₹65 per kilogram.”
Arvind Kejriwal stated, “Our country used to export sugar, but now it is planning to import it. Ethanol was produced to save foreign exchange spent on oil, and now we will spend that same foreign exchange importing sugar. On one hand, people’s vehicles are being damaged and their mileage is falling because of ethanol-blended petrol, while on the other, people are now having to buy expensive sugar.”
“The government takes decisions, but they do not even know what their consequences will be. When sugarcane was diverted towards ethanol, they should have thought about where the sugar would come from if so much sugarcane went into ethanol production. I do not understand, are all the people from top to bottom in the Modi Government uneducated,” he pointedly asked.
The AAP Chief asserted, “None of the decisions they have taken so far has benefited the country. During demonetisation, many people across the country died. When COVID came, instead of supplying oxygen cylinders to people, they were asked to bang thalis.”
Arvind Kejriwal pointed out, “It seems as if the entire government is full of uneducated people. But the fault is ours because we voted for these uneducated people and put them in those positions, even though they have no sense. They do not know how to run a government, and we are the ones suffering.”
