Middlemen cheating farmers at procurement centres: BJP

"It was revealed that wheat of only those farmers, who were paying a commission at the rate of Rs 85 per quintal to middlemen, was being purchased," BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak alleged.

"Farmers are being cheated at government wheat procurement centres, where wheat is not being weighed as per the norms.

"Contrary to the government's claim, farmers are not getting fair price of their produce due to the activeness of middlemen," the BJP spokesperson alleged while talking to the reporters here.

He claimed that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh was sensitive towards the interests of the farmers and they were getting benefit of a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal there.

"This year farmers have received Rs 417 crore as bonus of wheat procurement in MP. From this it is clear that if the Uttar Pradesh government had announced a bonus on the lines of the Madhya Pradesh government, farmers in UP would have got additional benefit," Pathak said.

He demanded that the state government immediately announce a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal and take stern action against middlemen.

The spokesman claimed that during inspection by BJP MLA Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti at a mandi parishad in Hamirpur, the case of commission charging came to light. PTI AVA PG ASY SHS