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Uproar over farmers' plight

Special Correspondent

Vasundhara Government on the mat over mustard procurement

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Tuesday over the issue of procurement of mustard with the entire Opposition pulling up the State Government for not starting purchases despite repeated demands from farmers. The treasury benches' proposal to adopt a resolution in the House seeking the Centre's attention fell flat in the pandemonium.

The issue came up during zero hour when a Congress MLA, Bharat Singh, pointed out that farmers across the State were not getting remunerative prices for mustard crop, the total output of which was expected to cross 40-lakh metric tonnes. He said the procurement at minimum support price should begin without delay.

Agriculture Minister Prabhulal Saini's contention that the State Government was waiting for permission of NAFED, which had been approached several times, failed to cut ice with the Opposition. Congress members' demand that procurement be started with the State's own finances led to protests by the ruling BJP members.

Amid the din in the House, Mr. Saini said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had written letters to the Centre and NAFED to sanction money for mustard procurement, but they had not yet responded.

On this, Congress MLA Harimohan Sharma and Pradyumna Singh said nobody was stopping the State Government from starting the procurement and get the reimbursement from the Centre later.

Congress members accused the BJP-led Government of being insensitive to the plight of farmers. "How can the BJP, which has killed 17 farmers demanding water and power by firing during three years of its rule, claim to protect their interests?'' said Mr. Sharma.

A suggestion by Mr. Saini and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore to adopt a unanimous resolution in the House urging the Centre to immediately start mustard procurement at MSP led to a fresh bout of uproar in the House.

Opposition leader Ramnarain Chaudhary said such a resolution would serve no purpose as Ms. Raje had not yet personally met Union Agriculture Minister in this regard.

Congress MLA Sanyam Lodha said Ms. Raje had insulted a previous Assembly resolution for getting the State's share in Ravi-Beas waters by campaigning in Punjab in support of Shiromani Akali Dal, which was now threatening to stop river water flow to Rajasthan after coming to power with the BJP's support.

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