TN BJP seeks white paper on paddy procurement, urges Stalin govt to speed up PM's fortified rice scheme
Chennai, Oct 23
Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad urged the state government to swiftly implement the Union government’s Fortified Rice Distribution Scheme and release a white paper outlining its stance and actions on paddy procurement.
In a statement, Prasad accused Food Minister R. Sakkarapani of “peddling filtered falsehoods†by claiming that the delay in Central approval for mixing fortified rice had caused the piling up of paddy bags in godowns.
“Before resorting to blame-shifting, the Minister should explain what fortified rice is and why the Modi government has mandated its distribution to address nutritional deficiencies,†Prasad said.
He said the fortified rice initiative -- containing iron, folic acid, and Vitamin B12 -- was introduced to combat anaemia and improve public health, particularly among the poor.
The Centre, he pointed out, issued fresh guidelines on July 29 for the 2025-26 procurement season, but the Tamil Nadu government acted only on October 7 by placing an order for 34,000 metric tonnes of fortified rice.
“This inexcusable 75-day delay has hurt both farmers and the public,†he said.
The BJP leader accused Minister Sakkarapani of misleading the public by alleging that the Centre had not cleared the fortified rice samples sent for quality assurance, while contractors had only dispatched the samples to Delhi recently.
He also noted that Agriculture Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam had contradicted Sakkarapani’s claims by attributing the procurement delay to an “unprecedented†rise in paddy production.
“Every time the DMK regime’s failures are exposed, Sakkarapani resorts to mudslinging against the Centre instead of fixing the system,†Prasad charged, adding that the government had failed to expand procurement centres, maintain godowns properly, or arrange temporary storage facilities.
He said the DMK’s administrative lapses in both agriculture and food departments had caused distress among farmers, while corruption and commissions at procurement centres remained unaddressed.
“Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin tweets about the Dravidian model’s achievements but stays silent on farmer suicides and anti-farmer policies,†he said.
Calling for an end to “political deflectionâ€, Prasad urged the state to speed up quality approvals from Delhi, streamline paddy procurement, and fully implement the fortified rice scheme to ensure an anaemia-free Tamil Nadu.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Both state and central governments need to work together instead of blaming each other. Farmers are suffering while politicians play blame games. This is so frustrating!
As someone from a farming family in Thanjavur, I can confirm the procurement issues. The godowns are overflowing while farmers wait for payments. The system needs urgent fixing.
While I appreciate the BJP's concern, they should also acknowledge that implementing new schemes takes time. The state government might have genuine administrative challenges. Let's give them reasonable time to execute properly.
Fortified rice is a good initiative for public health, but why the rush now? Shouldn't proper testing and quality checks be done first? We don't want another hasty implementation like demonetization.
The contradiction between two ministers in the same government shows lack of coordination. First fix your internal communication, then talk about implementation! 🤦â€â™€ï¸
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