BJP MP Varun Gandhi writes to Yogi to increase sugarcane prices, subsidize diesel
Item
Title
BJP MP Varun Gandhi writes to Yogi to increase sugarcane prices, subsidize diesel
Description
Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, Varun Gandhi, has written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking more remuneration for sugarcane crop, subsidy in diesel and electricity prices and doubling of money given to farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.In the two-page letter to Adityanath, the Pilibhit MP listed out all the problems and demands of the farmers and also suggested solutions for the same.Gandhi urged Adityanath to increase the sugarcane selling price to ₹400 per quintal that currently stands at ₹315 per quintal in Uttar Pradesh.“Farmers should be given an additional bonus of ₹200 per quintal above the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat and paddy,” Gandhi said in the letter.While the UP government has claimed to have cleared almost 84% of dues to about 4.5 million sugar cane farmers of the state, Gandhi has pointed out that some dues remain unpaid.The Yogi Adityanath government claims to have paid ₹1.42 lakh crore to sugarcane farmers in the past four years. Sugarcane is mainly grown in western UP, which is the hotbed of the UP farmers’ protest against the Centre’s three farm laws.Referring to the farming community’s alleged economic distress, the BJP MP pitched for a ₹200 per quintal bonus for farmers who grow wheat and rice apart from giving them seeds at cheaper rates and at least ₹20 per litre subsidy in diesel prices.He also demanded the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme to be doubled to ₹12,000 per annum for farmers with the state government contributing ₹6,000 from its funds.This is not the first time when Gandhi has raised issues related to the farmers. On September 5, when a large number of farmers gathered for the Muzaffarnagar Mahapanchayat, which was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha against the three farm laws, Gandhi said the government should re-engage with them to reach common ground as they are “our own flesh and blood.”
Publisher
Hindustan Times
Date
12-09-2021
Coverage
Other