New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI): Congress today held the government squarely "responsible" for the skyrocketing price of pulses, saying it has imported a paltry six lakh tonnes when the need was for 50 lakh tonnes.
Congress party's senior spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters that there is generally a 40 to 50 lakh tonne shortfall in the demand and supply of pulses, and the same is generally imported.
A former Commerce Minister, Mr Sharma said that this time, the production of pulses was even less but the Modi government imported just six lakh tonnes when it should have imported 50 lakh tonnes.
This has led to black marketing of pulses for which government is squarely responsible, he claimed.
He said that government's plan to create a buffer stock of 30,000 tonnes would hardly help as the idea has struck up late.