West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently intervene to control hoarding, increase supplies and bring down the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.

She also urged the Prime Minister to restore the states’ power to control the prices of essential food items like potato and onion.

“In the view of the seriousness of the matter, I would urge the Central government to urgently step in to control hoarding, to increase supply and to bring down the rising prices of essential commodities, as the public is facing an acute crisis. Otherwise, the power of the state government be restored for exercising control over the production, supply, distribution and sale of agricultural commodities,” she wrote in a four-page letter to the PM.

Banerjee also urged Modi to permit the states to bring about appropriate legislation in regard to their exercising control over the production, supply, distribution and sale of the agricultural commodities.

“...The state governments being now devoid of its powers cannot be expected to remain a silent spectator to the ongoing sufferings of the common people due to extraordinary price rise of potato and onion-like essential commodities,” the letter said.

The Parliament had on September 23 passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill to remove cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities.