NEW DELHI, OCT 7 (PTI): The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over rising prices of dry fruits ahead of the festival season, using the folk song “mehengaai daayan khaye jaat hai”, and asked who who will take responsibility for the burden weighing down the pockets of ordinary families.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared the screenshot of a media report which claimed that the prices of dry fruits from cashews and almonds to pistachios, walnuts, and dates at Khari Baoli, Delhi’s largest wholesale dry fruit market, have begun to disrupt household budgets ahead of the festival season.
“Modi sarkaar ke sanrakshan mein, mehengai dayan khaye jaat hai! (Under the patronage of the Modi government, inflation is devouring us like a witch!),” Ramesh said in his post in Hindi on X.
‘Mehengai dayan khaye jaat hai’ is a satirical folk song that became popular after it appeared in the 2010 Bollywood movie “Peepli Live”.
Diwali is a festival of joy, yet rising prices are wreaking havoc on the budgets of middle-class and poor families alike, he said.
Every section of society has been hit by the shock of inflation ahead of Diwali, Ramesh said.
“Prices of dry fruits have surged by 20% to 70%. Pistachios are up by 70%, almonds by 20-40%, and cashews have also become more expensive,” the Congress leader said.
Attempts are being made to mask the reality of inflation using government data, yet every Indian is enduring the pain, Ramesh said.
The government must explain when relief from inflation will come and who will take responsibility for this burden weighing down the pockets of ordinary families, he said.
The Congress has been flagging the issue of rising prices and accusing the government of following “anti-people” policies.
The government, however, has dismissed the claims and pointed to the GDP numbers.
Thursday, October 8, 2026