The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Vajpayee government blamed for fertilizer shortage

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Wednesday, Jun 18, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Vajpayee government blamed for fertilizer shortage

Special Correspondent

National Democratic Alliance accused of delaying release of subsidy amount to fertilizer companies

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Discussing problems: (From left) the former MLA G.V. Srirama Reddy, AIKS general secretary Varadarajan, KPRS leader Maruti Manpade, KPRS president Kodihali Chandrashekhar and Bheemsi Kaladgi at a seminar on fertilizer shortage, in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: Various farmers’ associations and political leaders on Tuesday termed as “irresponsible” the statement of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa holding the Union Government responsible for the fertilizer shortage in the State.

Participating in a seminar on “Reasons for the fertilizer shortage: who is responsible for it; and what are the solutions,” organised by the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) in Bangalore, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former MLA G.V. Sriram Reddy alleged that the present crisis with respect to fertilizer shortage was the result of an inordinate delay in the payment of subsidies to fertilizer companies by the National Democratic Alliance Government headed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Several fertilizer companies had stopped production as the Vajpayee Government stopped release of subsidies to them.

The IFFCO alone is yet to receive a subsidy of Rs 2,400 crore, he said.

The original decision to stop fertilizer subsidies had been taken by the Congress Government headed by P.V. Narasimha Rao. But it was the Vajpayee government which commenced its implementation. The United Progressive Alliance Government too had failed to revive the fertilizer subsidy, he said.

Challenge

Mr. Reddy challenged Mr. Yeddyurappa to take action against fertilizer traders who indulged in hoarding. “Traders are the traditional supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Hence, the BJP Government is going slow on them though it threatens action against them only for public consumption,” the CPI(M) leader alleged.

Haveri firing

Mr. Reddy described the police firing on farmers in Haveri as an indication of things to come in future. “This is precisely the Gujarat model of governance which the BJP was referring to. The BJP is not interested in solving farmers’ problems. They want power only to implement their hidden agenda,” he said.

Fertilizer policy

K. Varadarajan, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, called for a change in the fertilizer policy to ensure that farmers got adequate supply of fertilizers at affordable prices.

The country had not only stopped subsidies to fertilizer manufacturers, but also failed to increase its investment in the sector. As a result, several fertilizer companies in the country had stopped production forcing the country to depend heavily on imports, he said.

He said the only solution was to make the country self-reliant in fertilizers as indigenous production would not only remove shortages but also would be economical.

KPRS leader Maruthi Manpade called upon farmers’ leaders to expose hoarding of fertilizers by traders. KPRS general secretary G.C. Bayya Reddy and Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha President Kodihalli Chandrashekhar also spoke.

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