Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday announced its plan to stage a protest against Odisha’s BJP government on Tuesday, alleging that paddy procurement system in the state has completely collapsed, leaving farmers distressed.
Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, opposition deputy leader in the Assembly Prasanna Acharya, senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, and vice-president Sanjay Kumar Das Burma alleged that along with the breakdown of paddy procurement, the state’s law and order situation and women’s safety have also severely deteriorated.
Acharya stated that from the very first day of this year’s procurement drive, irregularities have persisted. Farmer registration, token distribution, procurement at mandis, and issues like arbitrary deductions have caused immense hardship to farmers. Across blocks and districts, farmers have been forced to take to the streets, making headlines in the media.
“However, the state government is unwilling to acknowledge their grievances. Instead, it continues to pat itself on the back, claiming smooth procurement operations, while official data itself proves these claims false,” he claimed.
According to government data, 1,966,181 farmers had registered for procurement this year. Out of them, around 150,000 registrations were reportedly cancelled by the government citing various reasons. While the total paddy production in the state this year stands at 19.306 million metric tonnes, only 6.009 million metric tonnes have been procured so far, merely 31% of the total production, the BJD leaders claimed.
Furthermore, although the Minimum Support Price (MSP) has been increased by Rs 69 this year, the government is allegedly not providing this benefit. As per norms, the payment should reach farmers’ accounts within 48 hours of procurement, but in reality, payments are delayed by 15 to 20 days. After securing farmers’ votes with multiple promises, the government has now adopted what BJD terms as an “anti-farmer” policy. Therefore, BJD has called for a massive protest tomorrow against this policy, said Acharya.
Debi Prasad Mishra stated that as per the directions of the BJD president Naveen Patnaik, protests involving farmers have been organised across various districts since February 2. “Tomorrow, a large-scale demonstration will be held at Lower PMG, Bhubaneswar. Apart from procurement irregularities, the protest will also highlight the breakdown of law and order and the worsening situation of women’s safety in the state, targeting the BJP-led state government,” he said.
Das Burma said that during the last elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised to procure paddy without any deductions and provide an input subsidy of Rs. 800 over MSP. After winning farmers’ votes through various assurances, the government has allegedly reneged on its promises.
The BJP’s manifesto had promised to procure all paddy from farmers, but now it is reportedly refusing to procure quantities beyond 150 quintals at Rs. 3,100 per quintal. Additionally, the state’s Food Supplies Minister, Cooperation Minister, and Agriculture Minister are making contradictory statements on paddy procurement, further ridiculing farmers, he claimed.
