Maharashtra Congress leader blames news channel for fall in tomato prices

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said a Hindi news channel was behind the crash in tomato prices amid the coronavirus outbreak and sought a ban on it for a period of one month.

He said the channel had telecast a news item about the presence of "tiranga virus" in tomatoes in May 13, after which prices started plummeting immediately, leading to heavy losses to farmers.

"A report about #Tiranga_virus in tomatoes in Maharashtra was broadcasted by a Hindi News Channel on 13 May. Prices crashed immediately and tomato farmers have suffered huge losses. Such irresponsible reporting must be punished. Govt must compensate farmers." he tweeted.

Tagging the Union ministry of information and broadcasting, Chavan said legal action should be taken against the news channel.

"The State Govt must take legal action against the channel and also ask the @MIB_India to take down the Channel for a month. The Centre must issue an SOP and a Code for reportage. Any #CORONA related sensitive news must be put out only with prior approval from ICMR or Central Govt," Chavan said.

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