New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS): The Congress has upped the ante on the onion issue and has fielded its women leaders to put more pressure on the central government to tackle the soaring prices of the vegetable.

The prices of one of the most commonly used vegetable recently crossed the Rs 100 per kg mark.

"Onion prices have really rocked the country. It has played with the budget of families and it is necessary to talk about it. The government should think why the prices have soared without the farmers getting any benefit. Middlemen are making money," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said.

The panic over onions cost a government in Delhi dearly when in 1998 the price soared to Rs 80 per kg.

"Onion has become an important issue and problem with the government - it seems that they know the problem about the hoarders, where these onions are stored but they are not ready to hit at the particular point and blame that there is more usage or there is deficient monsoon," Congress Rajya Sabha MP Amee Yajnik said.

Whenever the prices of onions rise many consumers try to substitute the "precious" onions with other cheaper alternatives like cabbages and radish.

With the spiralling prices, social media is abuzz with the issue. The hashtag #onion which is still trending started with the initial news and later the baton was carried forward by Twitterati to combat the increasing prices of onions.