BJP accuses C'garh govt of breaking paddy procurement promise

The BJP on Sunday held protests against the Chhattisgarh government and demanded it procures paddy from farmers at the promised price of Rs 2,500 per quintal. The promise was made by the Congress during the Assembly poll campaign late last year.

The opposition BJP held protests at all 1,380 state-run paddy procurements centers, with former chief minister Raman Singh leading it in Nagpur and Leader of Opposition Dharamlal Kaushik in Bilha. Singh said the Congress had betrayed people by not procuring paddy at Rs 2,500 per quintal.

The Bhupesh Baghel government had recently said it would buy paddy at the minimum support price per quintal fixed by the Centre, which is Rs 1815 for common grade paddy and Rs 1835 for grade A paddy, but added it was committed to keeping the Rs 2,500 per quintal promise by starting a new procurement scheme.