You are ignoring core issue, CM hits back at Centre

Responding to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who had written to him listing out how the Centre’s policies had helped both sugarcane growers and sugar factory owners, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed “deep disappointment” that the Central government continued to “evade the core issue”.

Countering Mr. Joshi, who had asked Karnataka to fix State Advisory Price (SAP), Mr. Siddaramaiah accused him of ignoring the central issue of the widening gap between the cost of cultivation and the price realisation of sugarcane.

“The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Central government at ₹355 per quintal at 10.25% recovery is being projected as a major achievement, with claims of a 105.2% margin over cost of production. This claim, unfortunately, is a farce. Every farmer in Karnataka knows that since 2014, the cost of fertilizers, labour, transportation, and other inputs have more than doubled, while the FRP has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just 4.47%, from ₹210 per quintal in 2014 to ₹355 today. Moreover, the FRP was not increased for two consecutive years during the NDA regime, which resulted in severe losses for farmers, each of those years causing an average loss of ₹20 per quintal to the growers,” he said.

The Chief Minister also raised questions about ethanol blending and the increased ethanol procurement as claimed by Mr. Joshi, with the “reality remaining far from what is being projected”. The Chief Minister also sought mill-wise data on support extended in Karnataka’s sugar factories.

Mr. Siddaramaiah also questoned why none of the Union Ministers from Karnataka attended the meeting held on November 7, and claimed that they had turned a blind eye to Union government repeatedly showing a step-motherly attitude towards Karnataka.

“I urge you, as a senior Union Minister from Karnataka, to raise your voice not against your own people but for your people,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah in his reply to Mr. Joshi.