Amidst uproar in the Upper House over the issues of non-payment of arrears and dues to the sugarcane farmers as well as power crisis, the members of both Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), staged a walkout from Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad, on Tuesday.
leader of Opposition and senior BSP leader, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, raised the issue of cane dues during the Zero Hour through an adjournment notice demanding a debate on it for at least one hour. The leaders of both Congress and Rastriya lok Dal (RlD)also attached their notices on the same issue, demanding a debate on it. Naseemudeen claimed that there was dues of Rs 9,000 crore, including interest, payable to the sugarcane farmers but the government is doing nothing in this regard forcing the farmers on verge of starvation. Alleging understanding between the mill owners and the government, Siddiqui said payment of cane dues to farmers would not be done by merely issuing recovery certificates.
Denying the allegations of Opposition Parties, the leader of the House, Ahmad Hassan, defending the government and said that they very serious towards payment of cane price and are already on the job. He assured that payment would be made very soon, however,
he alleged that previous Mayawati government sold cooperative sugar mills, whereas SP regime made many mills operational, still the Opposition making hue and cry over the issue. Dissatisfied with the reply, BSP members raised slogan against the government and staged a walk out of the House. Chairman, Ganesh Shanker Pandey, while rejecting the notice, directed the government for payment of cane dues at the earliest.
In a separate notice, BJP members raised the issue of power crisis in the state.leader of BJP in the House, Hriday Narain Dixit accused the government of not solving the issue and instead misleading the House. While, leader of the House, Ahmad Hassan said the government was making efforts to solve the power crisis. Stating that the demand has increased due to summer, he accused the Opposition of doing politics on the issue. However, agitated with the reply, BJP members walked out of the House. The Chairman, while rejecting the notice, directed the state government to take effective measures and ensure regular power supply.