BJP state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi demanded justice for the farmers in paddy purchase by the state government. Addressing a press conference here on Friday he said that after the drought of the last two years, the state has had a good paddy crop this year. The farmers were expecting good returns for their hard work from the state government.

Marandi said that the parties involved in the Hemant government had promised to buy paddy at Rs 3200 per quintal before the elections. But, the state government went back on its promise. Today, paddy is being purchased in the state at Rs 2300 per quintal and Rs 2400 per quintal with a bonus of Rs 100. The state government has set a target of purchasing 60 lakh quintals of paddy but the situation is such that paddy purchase centers have not been opened in the districts yet. Bureaucracy is so dominant that the Finance Minister is forced to return empty-handed from his area without inaugurating the paddy purchase center. Even where the centers are open in the state, many places are found locked.

He said that the state government has not been able to purchase even 15 per cent of the target paddy till now. The state government is also deducting 10...15 kg per quintal by calling the paddy wet. He said that the state government has complicated the process of paddy purchase.

Due to the indifference of the state government, farmers are forced to fall into the clutches of brokers and middlemen. Farmers are forced to sell the crop produced by their hard work at Rs 1800..1900 per quintal. Here, brokers and middlemen from Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh are roaming from village to village on bikes to buy paddy.

Marandi said that brokers and middlemen are reaching the villages directly with trucks and buying paddy from the farmers at a low price. He said that it is the responsibility of the state government to make the farmers self-reliant and to strengthen the farmers so that they can stand on their own feet.

He said that the farmers of Jharkhand are not self-reliant in food grain production. Here, paddy is the only crop which farmers earn a few rupees by selling at MSP, rest of the pulses etc. are not produced here on a large scale. He said that in such a situation, there is a need to encourage the farmers but the state government is constantly engaged in disappointing the farmers.

Marandi said that the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is dedicated to the all-round development of the farmers. Today, every year Rs 6000 is being sent to the farmers' accounts in three installments which is proving to be very helpful for the farmers. The central government is constantly increasing the MSP on crops. Recently, the subsidy on urea prices has been increased.

Kisan Morcha President Pawan Sahu and co-media in-charge Yogendra Pratap Singh were present in the press conference.