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Hubli, Nov 22 (IANS) Union Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday claimed that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is spreading “sheer lies” about maize procurement and import in the state.
Speaking to the media in Hubli, Union Minister Joshi said the Siddaramaiah government has “neglected” the interests of farmers in the state.
“Like someone helpless, the chief minister is now trying to blame the Center as his own administration has collapsed due to failure,” he said.
The minister questioned why the state government did not direct distilleries to enter into agreements with the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Limited (NCCF) or the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to ensure guaranteed purchase of maize for ethanol production.
“These distilleries licensed by the state government should have been given strict instructions to enter into formal purchase agreements for maize,” he said.
He further asked why the state has not ordered distilleries to purchase maize at the minimum support price (MSP).
He alleged that despite knowing all this, the state government was hiding its “failures” and “administrative paralysis” by blaming the Center and “misleading” the farmers.
Rejecting the claim that the Center imported 70 lakh metric tonnes of maize this year, the Union Minister said, “This is a blatant lie, far from the truth. In 2025-26, only 0.5 LMT has been imported. Exports are higher – up to 2.52 LMT.”
He said that the import duty on maize is about 50 percent, which has effectively curbed imports.
According to Joshi, maize allocated for ethanol and industrial use has increased sharply: from 8.29 LMT in 2022-23 to 75.38 LMT in 2023-24 and 125.75 LMT in 2024-25.
Pralhad Joshi said the Center has increased the demand in the market, but the state government has “failed” to ensure that farmers get the benefits.
He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Center is always committed to the welfare of farmers.
–IANS
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