BJP seeks Agriculture Minister’s resignation for failing farmers during Onam

The BJP has sought the resignation of Agriculture Minister P. Prasad for allegedly deceiving farmers by making false promises about payment for the paddy procured from them.

BJP Palakkad zone general secretary K.K. Surendran said here on Thursday that the government had promised the farmers to pay them for the paddy procured from them by Onam. The agriculture sector in Kerala was facing a severe crisis because of the government’s mishandling. He demanded that an agricultural budget be presented to address the crisis.

The BJP leader alleged that the government diverted and misused Central funds meant for paddy procurement, forcing farmers to go on a hunger strike during Onam.

The kole farmers of Ponnani were on a warpath, staging a hunger strike at Changaramkulam on Thursday, in protest against the government’s failure to pay them for the paddy procured five months ago.

Mr. Surendran called for a white paper from the government, detailing the Union government’s funds allocated for paddy procurement and how the State government utilised them.

The BJP leader claimed that the Union government had given ₹10,621.68 crore exclusively for paddy farmers in the past 11 years. He said the Centre gave ₹1,151.85 crore in 2024 and ₹1,062.32 crore in 2025.

Mr. Surendran accused the State government of diverting Central funds meant for farmers. He pointed out that while the Centre announced a support price of ₹33.21 per kilogramme of paddy, the State is paying only ₹28.20, and also imposing unfair loading charges on farmers.