Odisha House Committee to meet President on MSP for paddy

The Odisha Assembly House Committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy today decided to meet President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the MSP issue with him.

The committee headed by Speaker P K Amat will seek an appointment from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to take up Odisha farmers issues with the President, said BJD MLA Sanjay Dasburma after the meeting of the committee.

Dasburma said the committee decided to meet the president as it could not get appointment from the Prime Minister's Office. Even the PMO did not give acknowledgement to the committee's request letter, he alleged.

Though the meeting was attended by leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress and others, two BJP MLAs were absent. BJP member K V Singhdeo and B B Harichandan did not attend the meeting.

"It is unfortunate that none from the BJP attended the meeting. The BJP is not interested for the welfare of the farmers," alleged Congress Chief Whip Taraprasad Bahinipati.

The meeting resolved that it would submit a memorandum to the president mentioning the state's demand to announce Rs 2930 as the MSP per quintal of paddy.

Odisha Assembly had last year passed an unanimous resolution to make Rs 2930 per quaintal as MSP for paddy.

The Central government has recently fixed the MSP for paddy at Rs 1750 per quintal against the state's demand of Rs 2930 per quintal.