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Thursday, Nov 01, 2007
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Paddy: MSP issue will go to Prime Minister

Gargi Parsai

Union Ministers fail to reach accord

Further hike will push up prices, says Chidambaram
Government under pressure from its own ministers, BJP

NEW DELHI: Union Ministers from the rice-growing States on Wednesday failed to reach an agreement on further raising the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy procured for the Targeted Public Distribution System. The matter will now be referred to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

“I am supposed to report to the Cabinet, not to the media,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told journalists after the late evening meeting he chaired here. If sorted out, the issue would be taken up at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday.

It is understood that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram argued that a further increase in the MSP for paddy would push up prices and fuel inflation.

He also told the meeting that the government should go by the recommendation of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices, which fixes the MSP.

Bonus

The Centre has already given a bonus of Rs. 50 a quintal for both the common and Grade A varieties of paddy for the current procurement season. But it is under pressure from the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and its own Ministers from the rice-growing States to raise the paddy MSP at par with wheat, which is Rs. 1,000 a quintal, for the next rabi season.

The meeting was convened after the Union Cabinet deferred a decision last week. As Mr. Chidambaram was out of the country at that time, it was decided that Mr. Pawar would elicit the views of the Ministers.

Another meet

Coming out of the meeting, Ministers of State Renuka Chowdhury and D. Purandhareswari said there would be another session after Deepavali to discuss the matter. Among those who attended were Cabinet Ministers T.R. Baalu and Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

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