Centre not procuring rice from Chhattisgarh, says CM Baghel

Speaking to reporters in Raipur, Bhupesh Baghel said, They(Centre) are not buying rice from us. It is very unfortunate

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday said that the Centre is not procuring rice from the state adding that BJP sees politics in every issue.

Speaking to reporters in Raipur, Bhupesh Baghel said, “They(Centre) are not buying rice from us. It is very unfortunate. They have started playing games. Earlier also we were treated in the same manner. And we had to sell the paddy in the open market. We bore the loss but did not let the farmers bear the loss.BJP sees politics in everything.” Earlier today CM Baghel also wrote a letter to the Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal on the reduction in the target of rice procurement from the state in the Central Pool.

---

“Chhattisgarh government has estimated to procure 130 lakh tonnes of paddy this year, the Center has also reduced the quantity of rice from 86.5 lakh metric tonnes to 61 lakh metric tonnes as per the procurement estimate of Chhattisgarh,” the letter read.

Earlier today Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged the people of the state to not vote for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections alleging that the Centre is not supplying rice to the state for the Anna Bhagya scheme.

Calling BJP’s action ‘inhumane’, Karnataka CM said, “We trusted them, but the centre denied us rice. Is the BJP pro-poor? They are not. We did not ask for rice for free. We were ready to pay for it. We were ready to pay 36 rupees (per kg) for the rice. When we asked for rice, they agreed and then backtracked.

All of you must decide how despicable they are. They are anti-poor.” The 2023 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held later this year to elect all 90 members of the House.

Congress managed to win 68 seats while BJP was able to ensure victory on 15 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections.