Farmers Movement Archive

SP walks out of Vidhan Parishad over ‘corruption’ in paddy purchase in UP

The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Friday staged a walkout in the Vidhan Parishad demanding a high-level inquiry into the alleged state-wide corruption in paddy purchase from farmers at minimum support price (MSP) during the current procurement season.Raising the issue through the adjournment motion, SP members Naresh Chandra Uttam, Balram Yadav, Rajesh Yadav, Shashank Yadav and others alleged that middlemen were showing paddy as being purchased from farmers who actually had no land and never grew paddy. The middlemen, according to them, had opened bank accounts in the name of farmers depriving genuine farmers of the benefits of the MSP. Joining the issue, SP MLC Sanjay Lathar demanded the government to withdraw the amendments to the Mandi Act in the wake of the repeal of the package of three farm laws by the Centre. The amendments, he said, had declared private silos, godowns and cold storages as sub-mandis where traders could purchase goods from farmers without adopting any auction process. Agriculture minister Surya Pratap Sahi, in his reply, said SP’s allegations were baseless and demanded the chair to reject its demand for a debate on the issue. Not satisfied with the minister’s response, SP members walked out of the House shouting slogans against the government. Earlier, SP members staged a walkout demanding a probe into the reservation in the assistant teachers’ recruitment examination, 2019. Deepak Singh of the Congress raised the issue of spiralling price rise in the state and demanded the chair through the adjournment motion to allow a debate on the issue of public interest.

Hindustan Times

17-12-2021

Lucknow