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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has blamed the Union Government for the sharp increase in the prices of fertilisers and a faulty method to fix the minimum support price (MSP) for various crops, which are making agriculture non-remunerative.
He asked the Union Government to stabilise the prices at the current levels and absorb the additional costs.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, he alleged that prices of the most consumed fertilisers of 28.28.0 (nitrogen, phosphorous) and potash have gone up by more than 50 per cent and 100 per cent respectively in the last three months.
“Contrary to the promise of doubling of farmers’ income, the costs of inputs have doubled in the last five years and incomes of farmers have declined in the last five years,” he said.
“By raising the fertiliser prices, increasing fuel prices and faulty fixation of MSP prices, the Government is not only contributing to increase in the cost of cultivation to the farmers but also defaulting on the promise of doubling of farmers’ income,” he said.
Political moves
The Chief Minister’s letter comes close on the heels of the State’s recent unsuccessful fight with the Union Government on the procurement of parboiled rice.
Interestingly, the TRS founder-President met the top leadership of CPI and CPM, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM Secretary Sitaram Yechury, and RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejaswi Prasad Yadav in the last few days.
They talked about the need for forging an anti-BJP alliance at the national level.
His letter also comes in the wake of State BJP’s increased attack on the TRS Government and a steady flow of BJP’s national leadership frequenting Hyderabad in the last few days. BJP President J P Nadda and Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chhattisgarh former Chief Minister Raman Singh are some of the BJP heavyweights that visited Telangana in the last few days, launching a high decibel attack on the State Government’s ‘failures’.
Blaming the BJP government at the Centre for the sorry state in agriculture, Chandrashekar Rao said that higher fuel prices also put a heavy burden on the farmers.
“The seven-decade old fertiliser subsidy regime is being modified against the interests of farming community,” he said.
Faulty MSP calculation
He alleged that the Centre had deliberately excluded the essential farm rentals and the cost of fixed capital assets while calculating the cost of crop.
“The claim that the MSP is pegged at 150 per cent of the costs of the crop is misleading. Farmers are denied MSP prices and compelled to sell their produce at lower prices thereby making agriculture non-remunerative,” he said.
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