'Does she eat Avocado?' Chidambaram takes dig at Sitharaman for 'don't eat onion' comment
New Delhi: "Does she eat avocado?" quipped former finance minister P Chidambaram, who arrived in Parliament on Thursday after spending 106 days in Tihar jail, when asked to comment on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's comment that her family didn't eat onion much.
Speaking at a press conference later, Chidambaram said that his comments on the finance minister was not "sarcastic".
"I was not sarcastic, I was quoting her. They should have planned in advance, what is the point of importing (onion) now, when will they arrive. But if the finance minister says I don't eat onions, that shows the mindset of this government," he said.
On Wednesday when asked by an MP if she ate onions, Sitharaman had said, "I belong to a family which does not eat onion and garlic."
The government had on Wednesday said that the state-run trading firm MMTC has placed another onion import order of 4,000 tonnes from Turkey and the shipments are expected to reach by mid-January.
This is in addition to 17,090 tonnes of onions already contracted, which includes 6,090 tonnes from Egypt and 11,000 tonnes from Turkey, it said in a statement.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament Complex while joining other Congress MPs protesting against the steep hike in onion prices, Chidambaram said that while he would not speak on his court case, he would speak in the House and the government would not be able to "suppress" him.
"I thought the Finance Minister said in Parliament yesterday that she didn't eat onion and she is not bothered. What does she eat? Avocado? She doesn't eat onions," he said.
The Supreme Court granted bail to former Chidambaram in the INX Media case on Wednesday.
"I am happy to be back. The government cannot suppress my voice in Parliament," he said.
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Man dies by suicide after being 'duped of ₹1.5 crore' in stock market scam
Jaipur (PTI): A 42-year-old man allegedly died by suicide after jumping in front of a Sikar-Rewari passenger train in Jhunjhunu district on Saturday morning, officials said.
Police launched a probe into allegations in a three-page suicide note in which the deceased allegedly blamed several individuals for his death, accusing them of cheating his family out of around Rs 1.5 crore through stock market investment.
The deceased cited mounting debts and alleged harassment by creditors as reasons that drove him to take the extreme step.
Kotwali police head constable Mahendra Singh said the deceased, Vimal Kumar Sharma, was identified using a mobile phone recovered from the spot near the New Housing Board police line crossing.
"We contacted numbers stored in the phone, which helped establish his identity. A suicide note was also found in the deceased's pocket," he said, adding that Sharma was engaged in share market trading.
In the suicide note, Sharma alleged that despite lodging a complaint at the Kotwali police station, police conducted no proper investigation and closed the case file without inquiry.
He claimed to possess evidence such as call recordings, a pen drive and bank statements.
Meanwhile, family members reached the hospital and demanded the arrest of the accused persons named in the suicide note, refusing to accept the body until action is taken.
Police said an investigation is underway.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
