Haryana rice millers on Thursday came out strongly against the Opposition INlD for keeping a vigil on the transportation of paddy in the State. Refuting the allegations of bringing paddy from other States to complete their stocks, the rice millers on Thursday said that they are being made a scapegoat of the political clash between the Government and the Opposition.
Raising a dissent against the seizure of three trucks in Ambala a day before, rice millers said that the trucks were carrying legally purchased paddy, which was being brought to mills for trading purpose. Though the millers could not satisfy media with their answers, when they were asked about the need to bring paddy from other States when the procurement process has just concluded in the State, they claimed that it was a regular practice for millers to buy paddy from other States.
Addressing a Press conference in Chandigarh, President of association Satpal Gupta said that the INlD workers have been trying to illegally disturb the trade of the rice millers. He said that they are taking up this issue with the government also and INlD workers have not right to block the trading practices of millers.
Pointing a finger on both the Opposition parties in Haryana INlD and Congress, he said that the Opposition is training their guns on millers’ shoulders to achieve their political objects.
On Wednesday, INlD leader Abhay Singh Chautala had claimed that his workers had caught three trucks carrying with paddy brought from other States. Chautala had claimed that millers were bringing cheap paddy to fill up their stocks for the physical verification. Chautala had claimed that the paddy in these trucks did not have valid documents of trading.
The issue of Paddy purchase scam had created much uproar in the recently concluded Winter Session of Haryana assembly. Both the Opposition parties, Congress and INlD had raised the issue vociferously, claiming it to be a scam of over 10 thousand crores. Both the parties are alleging that Government allotted PB 1509 variety to the millers in the A-grade variety to give them financial advantage.
The Opposition has also alleged that Government agencies have also shown fake purchase of paddy to the tune of more that 11 thousand MT. Both the parties had staged walk outs demanded probe by a sitting High Court judge or SIT on the issue. While not convinced with the allegations, Haryana Government has marked physical verification of stocks in the mills.