The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Raise MSP or pay extra bonus to ryots: BJP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 28, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Raise MSP or pay extra bonus to ryots: BJP

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party state unit on Saturday demanded that the Government convince the Centre to enhance the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs. 1,000 a quintal or take steps to provide bonus of Rs. 100 over an above the present MSP to farmers.

Charging the Food Corporation of India with adopting a biased attitude towards Andhra Pradesh farmers, the BJP wanted the Government to create necessary infrastructure facilitating FCI to directly procure paddy from farmers on the lines of Punjab and Haryana.

“While the FCI procures paddy from farmers in other States, rice is being procured from Andhra Pradesh forcing farmers to bear milling and other charges,” BJP national secretary N. Indrasena Reddy said. Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Reddy asked the Government to take necessary steps in this regard before procurement of paddy commences this season.

Issue orders

The Government should issue orders asking Markfed, Civil Supplies Corporation and other agencies to commence procurement at the earliest, he added. He faulted Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy for his reported comments that Opposition parties lacked “adequate knowledge” on MSP and were making “unnecessary” charges against the Government. “The Minister is in fact not aware about the mechanism that has been set up for price fixation. This is evident from the fact that he lacks proper understanding about the difference in MSP and demand,” he said.

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