'Don't Blame Centre For Everything': Congress To Left In Kerala Assembly During Debate On Paddy Procurement Dues

A day after slamming the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government over lapses in implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, V D Satheesan, the leader of opposition in the Kerala Assembly, questioned the government over the delay in payments to farmers from whom paddy had been procured.

As per a report by Onmanorama, when Agriculture minister P Prasad stated that the payments were delayed because the centre had not yet given Rs 1000 crore and asked the opposition as to why it was silent about this, Satheesan replied saying that they had raised the issue in Parliament and found that it was because the state government had not submitted the procurement audit report.

The Congress asked the state government not to blame the centre for everything.

He further alleged that the state government was taking advantage of the centre's largesse and instead of providing a higher price to farmers, it had decreased its share at a time when the central government had decided to increase its contribution.

Satheesan said that farmers were getting Rs 28.20 per kg with the centre's share being Rs 20.40 and the Kerala government's at Rs 7.80. But when the centre increased its payment by Rs 1.43 per kg, instead of ensuring that the farmers got Rs 29.63 per kg, the state government reduced its share by the same amount, and thus did not pass on the benefit to farmers.

Also Read: Congress Slams Left In Kerala Assembly Over Lapses In Implementing Central Govt's Jal Jeevan Mission