Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was all praise for the pineapples of Meghalaya as he stopped midway during his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to taste the fruit in the hill state on Tuesday. Gandhi said it was the tastiest pineapple he ever had and accused the ruling BJP of not developing proper infrastructure to promote the fruit variety unique to the hill state.
“There was a daughter and a mother selling pineapples on the side of the road. In my entire life, I have never had such delicious pineapples. Immediately after I had it, I called up my mother and said I am bringing some of the best pineapples in the world for you,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a rally in Meghalaya’s Nongpoh.
However, the Congress leader attacked the BJP for not developing infrastructure to export the pineapples and posed three questions — which have now become a thorn in his flesh.
“Why isn’t the best-tasting pineapple available to the entire world? Why is the best-tasting pineapple in the world not being sold in London, New York or Tokyo? And why are the farmers, that mother and daughter, not benefiting from the sale of pineapples?” Gandhi asked.
“This is because the infrastructure has not been developed to send these pineapples to the rest of the world. The entire population of Meghalaya will become wealthy on what you are producing,” the Wayanad MP further said.
RAHUL GANDHI FACES BRICKBATS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
However, Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, several BJP leaders and social media users were quick to point out that Meghalaya’s unique pineapples were a big hit in Gulf nations and a part of the Centre’s ODOP (One District One Product) programme.
“What’s the difference between a pineapple and Rahul Gandhi at 53? Ans: It takes a maximum of 3 years for a pineapple to mature,” senior lawyer Jethmalani tweeted with a post showing several reports of the fruit being exported.
Meghalaya alone accounts for more than 8 per cent of the country’s total pineapple production. The hill state produces over 1,38,701 metric tonnes of pineapples annually. The pineapples are mainly cultivated in the Ri-Bhoi and West Garo Hills districts.
The ‘Kew’ pineapple variety is very much in demand due to its sweetness and juicy flesh.
BJP national secretary Satya Kumar Y also hit out at Rahul Gandhi for being “cut off from ground realities” and relaying “false propaganda”.
“Dear Rahul Gandhi, you have no idea about what’s happening in your country. If you’re saying that Meghalaya’s pineapple isn’t being promoted, you need to know some facts,” he tweeted.
“PM Narendra Modi’s government organised the Pineapple Festival, and it was celebrated at Dilli Haat, New Delhi. Meghalaya exports more than 1.3 tonnes of pineapple to the Middle East. Once again your false propaganda has been debunked,” the BJP leader further said.
PINEAPPLES FROM MEGHALAYA EXPORTED TO GULF COUNTRIES
Meghalayan pineapples are exported to several Gulf nations and are available in malls across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Kuwait. Last year, pineapples from Meghalaya were displayed at Abu Dhabi’s Al-Wahda Mall. The fruit is being marketed in the Middle East by the Lulu Group.
Meghalaya exported over 1.3 tonnes of pineapples to the Middle East. It is also benefitting the farmers as they are getting up to two times increase in price realisation from these trades, a report in Economic Times said.
Moreover, around 40 tonnes of pineapples were shipped to a Karnataka-based processor in 2023 to be further exported to European and North American markets.
