Twitter Calls Nirmala Sitharaman's 'I Don't Eat Onions' Remark 'Insensitive' and 'Casteist'

With onion prices skyrocketing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday addressed the Lok Sabha on the issue and said that the governmnet is taking measures to check the price rise. However, the measures lay forgotten as Indians on social media and off it latched on to a another statement made my the minister - that she comes from a family that does not consume as much onions or garlic.

In response to a question posed by NCP MP Supriya Sule in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, "I don't eat much of onion and garlic. I come from such a family which doesn't have much to do with onion."

The response has incurred the wrath of netizens, many of whom felt that whether Sitharaman and her family ate onions or not was irrelevant to the discussion on skyrocketing prices. Others construed the statement as an acknowledgement of how little Sitharaman cared about rising onion prices - a problem that affects that entire country's population - because she didn't eat it.



Twitter was instantly flooded with sarcastic jokes at the cost of the Fin Min with the hashtag '#SayItLikeNirmalaTai' trending.

She don't care!#SayItLikeNirmalaTai #OnionPrices pic.twitter.com/PwG4r6DOYv

— Pankaj Gupta (@PankajG026) December 5, 2019

Divorce rate is high in India since people keep getting married. #SayItLikeNirmalaTai

— Rofl Republic 🍋🌶 (@i_theindian) December 4, 2019

I don't eat chapathis. So the price of wheat doesn't bother me.
(Ramanan, Punjabi House, 1998)#SayItLikeNirmalaTai pic.twitter.com/TSgFTzWcAH

— നെട്ടൂരാൻ (@TheNettooran) December 5, 2019

"I don't know economics, so I don't care about Economy" #SayItLikeNirmalaTai

— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) December 5, 2019

Salman Khan doesn't care about bad roads because he drives on footpaths.#SayItLikeNirmalaTai

— Tabish Qamar (@Tabishqmr) December 4, 2019

Nirmala Sitharaman doesn't care about the economy because she doesn't travel economy class.#SayItLikeNirmalaTai

— PuNsTeR™ (@Pun_Starr) December 4, 2019

#SayItLikeNirmalaTai

Bhakat: Why is unemployment so high?

NS: No one in my family is unemployed. So, no issue there.

— baadal vaigyanik Ravi Kundurthi (@RaviKundurthi) December 4, 2019

People don't care about Toilet paper prices because they read Chetan Bhagat's books. 😂#SayItLikeNirmalaTai

— IRONY MAN (@karanku100) December 5, 2019

Meanwhile, others also pointed out that the onion "admission" was a mark of caste pride. Onions and garlic are traditionally not used for cooking in Brahmin households that are often strictly vegetarian. Critics felt that the statement was somewhat insensitive apropos to the discussion of rising prices that affect a majority of Indians who consume or produce onions.

Also, notice the subtle caste pride in those words

— Liberal Mantri (@LiberalMantri) December 4, 2019

The Finance minister belongs to a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family. This comment not only shows what an ignorant, power drunk leader she is but also furthers the propaganda ritual purity & Brahminism. https://t.co/A9PMrf3geX

— Vidya (@VidyaKrishnan) December 5, 2019

Also, that subtle 'caste pride' in claiming that she & her pariwar doesn't consume onions! 😡😡😤 https://t.co/UHYN9sBLLZ

— Agnipath (@paan_addict) December 4, 2019

One user likened Sitharaman's tone-deaf comment to a famous one attributed to Mary Antoinnette at the height of the French Revolution - (If they don't have bread), "let them eat cake". (In response to a question about what can be done to help starving peasants who don't have bread).

Marie Antoinette - 'Let them eat cake'
Nirmala Sitaraman - 'Don't worry about high onion prices, I don't eat onion anyway'#SayItLikeNirmalaTai

— Hasiba 🌈 (@HasibaAmin) December 5, 2019

Sitharaman, however, has claimed that her statement is being quoted out of context. In repsonse to the trolling, the Finance minister uploaded the full video of her Lok Sabha address on her Twitter account. Her supporters argued that Sitharaman was responding a question about whether she ate onions and that the response was not outrageous when seen in the right context.

Here is the full video of Smt @nsitharaman explaining in detail the steps taken by the govt. to control onion prices and provide relief to the common man. A part of this video clip is being quoted out of context and is misleading. pic.twitter.com/56MLd1gKpU

— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) December 5, 2019

Someone asked if she eats onions, she said I don’t. What else should she have said?
Maybe opposition MPs should not disturb the house by asking silly questions... https://t.co/PWHikt8OgW

— Gappistan Radio (@GappistanRadio) December 5, 2019