An election issue in poll-bound Gujarat

Cotton is fast becoming a political issue in poll-bound Gujarat. The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Party on Monday stated it was due to its initiatives with the Centre that the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has fixed the procurement rate for cotton at Rs 880 per 20 kg in Gujarat. Congress leaders had some time back met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighting the plight of cotton farmers. Attacking the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for doing little, the party has demanded a special financial package for cotton growers.

Meanwhile, textiles minister Anand Sharma on Monday objected to Modi’s disparaging comments on cotton exports, urging him to refrain from viewing through “narrow prism of partisan politics”. Sharma has directed the CCI to raise its buying price for cotton from the state.

AICC incharge of Gujarat, Mohan Prakash, on Monday said, “Our efforts at the Centre have borne fruit, and cotton growers in Gujarat who incidentally grow the best super fine quality of cotton are now getting the right price.”

With Gujarat headed for Assembly polls in December, both the incumbent BJP and the Congress have started raising issues with an eye on the votebank.

With the Centre directing a higher price for procurement of cotton, the Congress lost no opportunity in belittling the Modi government. Mohan Prakash said, “The Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra had in December last year given a special package of Rs 2000 crore for cotton, soya bean and paddy farmers. The Gujarat government, too, must step in with such special packages.”

The Gujarat CM has criticised the Centre’s policy of banning exports saying the Centre is taxing export of cotton while offering subsidies on meat exports. Sharma rebutted Modi’s remarks.

In the run-up to the December elections, cotton politics is likely to assume centrestage, in the same way sugar politics did in Uttar Pradesh.