The disclosure was made by the party after remarks made by finance minister P Chidambaram that hike in paddy MSP to only Rs 850 per quintal was due to recommendations by certain state governments, all of them BJP
ruled.
While government sources said that the finance minister was only briefing the media on the basis of the Cabinet note circulated by the Sharad Pawar headed agriculture ministry, the BJP was in no mood to relent.
In fact, it has warned that it will make the MSP issue, a major campaign point against the Union government and its pretense of being pro-farmer.
The finance minister had said yesterday that : "Some states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa wanted less than Rs 1,000 a quintal as MSP, while some others wanted more than that. In view of divergent views, the matter
was today referred to the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council."
More From This Section
"In fact, Himachal Pradesh wanted MSP for paddy to be Rs 645 a quintal, less than even the current price of Rs 745 a quintal," he added.
An angered BJP then released letters written by chief ministers of Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, clearly asking for an MSP of Rs 1000 per quintal.
"In fact, a few months ago, senior BJP leader L K Advaniji led a delegation which included BJP president Rajnath Singh and I to the Prime Minister asking for a hike in MSP to Rs 1000 per quintal, at that time the Prime Minister had told us that there could not be a parity between wheat and paddy," said senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu.
Naidu said that he had spoken to Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who said that he would be following up the letter he had written. "The Committee on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which recommends various MSPs had calculated the MSP for paddy as input cost plus 50 per cent profit.
The CACP has recommended Rs 1000 per quintal MSP," said Naidu.