The State’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday intensified its ongoing agitation against the Centre for turning down Odisha’s demand for increasing the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy from `1,550 to `2,390 per quintal.
Party leaders and activists staged demonstrations in Bargarh, Boudh, Subarnapur, Deogarh, Kalahandi, Koraput and other districts as part of their State-wide agitation accusing the Union Government of turning a deaf ear to the State’s farmers’ demands.
The State Government had earlier demanded a hike in the paddy MSP to `2,930 per quintal which was rejected by the Centre despite a unanimous resolution passed in the State Assembly in 2017.
BJD leaders during the protest lashed out at the Union Agriculture Minister, who in a written reply in Parliament recently, stated that the paddy MSP at `1,550 for 2017-18 financial year provided a profit of `443 per quintal to farmers against their cost of production as estimated by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.
However, the State Government claims that farmers spend about `2,100 for producing a quintal of paddy, for which they should be paid an MSP of `2,930.
But the State BJP unit says that the Odisha Government itself, like its counterparts in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and other States should pay a bonus to the farmers.