Patna, Aug 21: Bihar Rural Development Minister Shrawan Kumar’s remarks that the sharp rise in sugar prices may not significantly affect consumers because “everyone has diabetes these days” triggered a political controversy on Friday, with opposition leaders accusing him of being insensitive to the concerns of ordinary people.
Retail sugar prices have reportedly risen from around ₹48-50 per kg last week to ₹65-68 per kg on Friday, adding to concerns over the cost of an everyday household commodity.
Speaking in his Nalanda Assembly constituency, Kumar said the increasing number of diabetic patients had reduced people’s consumption of sweets.
“Due to increasing cases of diabetic patients, people are not taking sweets,” Kumar said.
“Everyone is suffering from diabetes. I don’t think the price rise of sugar will make much difference for people,” he added, saying people consume “very less sweets these days”.
His comments drew sharp criticism from the opposition. RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad accused the minister of being disconnected from the concerns of common consumers.
“Shrawan Kumar is a Minister and he can afford the rising price of sugar and remain insensitive to the concerns of common people,” Ahmad said.
He said the sugar price hike had “hit common people who start their day with a cup of tea” and attributed the increase to what he described as wrong policies of the Central government.
Independent MP from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav also criticised the minister’s remarks.
“The biggest ‘diabetes’ is the government itself,” Yadav said, questioning the response of political leaders to the rise in prices of essential commodities.
Meanwhile, Bihar Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha acknowledged that sugar prices had increased significantly but took a different view of the development from the consumer-price perspective.
“There has been significant increase in price of sugar but, I personally feel happy when the price of my farmer’s produce increases,” Sinha said.
He added that the government would examine the reasons behind the rise in sugar prices.
A Rural Development Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the increase to several factors, including diversion of sugarcane towards the ethanol-blending programme, tight domestic inventories ahead of the festive demand season and reduced releases by sugar mills.
Sugarcane Industries Minister Sanjay Kumar Paswan, however, said there was no shortage of sugar in Bihar.
“Bihar has no dearth of sugar so there is no point of its price hike,” Paswan said.
He said the government had written to District Magistrates to take strict action against the hoarding of sugar for more than seven days in their respective areas.
The contrasting statements came as the sharp rise in sugar prices became a political issue in the state, with the government facing questions over supply, pricing and alleged hoarding.
While ministers said the reasons for the increase would be examined and action taken against hoarding, the opposition continued to target the government over the impact of the price rise on ordinary households.
