The Bharatiya Janata Party will take a high-level delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand an immediate hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy from Rs. 725 to Rs. 1,000 per quintal.
New Delhi, Oct.18 : The Bharatiya Janata Party will take a high-level delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand an immediate hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy from Rs. 725 to Rs. 1,000 per quintal.
BJP spokeperson Prakash Javadkar told mediapersons here today that the disparity between the MSP of wheat and paddy has increased phenomenally to Rs 275 per quintal after government's decision to increase MSP of wheat without a commensurate increase in the MSP of paddy.
If course correction is not done at the earliest, Javadkar said paddy farmers might switch over to wheat and this could result in a crunch.
Javadkar also charged the UPA Government of having biased view against paddy. In many reports and statements government has expressed its opinion against the crop on the ground of its high water intensity.
He said this is true only where it is under irrigation. The major paddy crop in Andhra, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand is rain fed Kharif crop.
The government bias is also reflected through its method of calculating the cost of production, which is showing downward trend though the ground reality is different. BJP warns that if this step motherly treatment continues for the paddy, it will result in a demand supply crunch sooner than later, he added.
He insisted that the UPA Government must come clean on the embarrassment faced by External Affairs Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on his inter governmental commission visit to Russia.
Reports about Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov not meeting Mukherjee and his frisking at the airport do not gel well for the country, Javadkar said.
"The country must know whether this is displeasure by the host country or bad handling of an MEA visit by our government. Russia has been our trusted ally through thick and thin. The embarrassment faced by MEA is a cause of concern because of this special relationship. A curious aspect of the visit needs explanation as to whether it was not properly planned or planned in haste to postpone domestic crisis with Left," the BJP spokesperson said.
ANI