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Bengaluru, Nov 7 (IANS) Responding to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s allegations of discrimination by the Central government against the state on ethanol allocation, Union Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has hit back against the Chief Minister.
On Siddaramaiah’s allegation that the central government was providing “incorrect information” about ethanol distribution, Union Minister Joshi said, “In his desperation to retain the chief minister’s post, Siddaramaiah is saying all kinds of baseless things. The tragedy for Karnataka is that its chief minister does not even have the basic understanding of verifying facts and data before making public statements.”
“It is the Chief Minister himself who is building a palace of lies. While struggling to retain his position, he is speaking out of frustration without understanding the facts,” he said.
The Union Minister said that during 2024-25, Karnataka supplied 139.8 crore liters of ethanol to oil marketing companies (OMCs).
He commented, “The Chief Minister should have first understood the data, verified with officials and then spoken. Unfortunately, it seems he does not have even the minimum level of awareness.”
The Union Minister accused Siddaramaiah of political escapism, saying, “When he was in the opposition, Siddaramaiah used to advise the government to fix prices and set up a revolving fund. Now that he is in power, he has failed to resolve the issues of sugarcane farmers. Instead, he is pointing fingers at the Center to shirk responsibility.”
He also clarified that the parliamentary reply quoted by Siddaramaiah had data only till June 30, 2025, while the ethanol supply year runs from November to October.
Union Minister Joshi said, “By hiding this fact, he is deliberately misleading the public.”
He said that between 2004 and 2014, sugarcane farmers were not paid on time and suffered huge losses due to very low Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) and Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Union Minister Joshi said, “Though ethanol blending was proposed way back in 2005, the then Congress-led government never took it seriously. After our government came to power, ethanol production and supply to OMCs increased 26 times between 2013-14 and 2024-25.”
He gave concrete figures: “In 2013-14, sugarcane procurement was Rs 57,104 crore. By 2024-25, it has crossed Rs 1,02,687 crore. The FRP in 2013-14 was Rs 210 per quintal and has now increased by 10.25 per cent to Rs 355 per quintal for the 2025-26 sugar season. This Shows the strong commitment of our government, Mr Siddaramaiah,” he said.
Explaining the logic behind ethanol blending, the Union Minister said that surplus sugar is being balanced through ethanol blending.
“From 2013-14 to 2024-25, fuel-grade ethanol production and supplies to OMCs have increased 26 times,” he said.
He emphasized that it is the responsibility of the Central Government to make a uniform national policy.
“It is also our duty to maintain balance in sugar prices and necessary measures are being taken. During the last 10 years, export of sugar was allowed up to 10 LMT (lakh metric tonne). This year, the allowance has been increased to 15 LMT,” he said.
Union Minister Joshi criticized the Karnataka Congress-led government, saying that it has completely failed to meet the demands of sugarcane farmers.
In a sharp hit back at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he alleged, “Your government is only spreading lies and building castles in the air, pushing common people and farmers onto the streets. Your so-called ‘guarantee’ is the only thing your government stands for – not the overall development of the state. Due to the extreme misgovernance of the Congress government, farmers have been forced to protest.”
–IANS
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