The Akhilesh Yadav Government has blamed Centre for lower MSP for wheat and paddy saying Union Government had rejected UP Government’s proposal of higher MSP for reasons best known to them.
The clarification came during question hour in Vidhan Sabha here on Friday when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Azam Khan said the state government had sent recommendation to Union Government to announce MSP of paddy as Rs 1810 per quintal but government announced MSP as Rs 1310 per quintal. Similarly, UP asked for Rs 2300 per quintal as MSP for wheat but Union Government announced Rs 1400 per quintal as MSP.
“The Samajwadi Party Government is pro-farmers and wanted to protect the rights of the farmers. But it is not getting support from the Union Government,” the minister said while answering question asked by laxmi kant Bajpai (BJP). He said that the state government has received a letter from Central Government on June 12 asking state governments “not to distribute bonus with MSP as it skews the market economy.”
When Rita Bahuguna Joshi (Congress) asked whether State Government will of its own give bonus, minister said: “There is a suggestion from the Union Government and you want us to defy that. Would it be prudent for a state government to defy CentreIJ” In his answer minister said that Government had set a target to procure 60 lakh quintal of wheat last year and 45 lakh quintak this fiscal. “So far Government has achieved 13.30 per cent pf the target,” he said.