Opposition Congress and BJP Tuesday called the ruling BJD in Odisha as "anti-farmer" and said those in the state need water, seeds, proper MSP and not sops under the state government's KALIA scheme.
Both the opposition parties alleged in the assembly that the state government has misled cultivators in the name of Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA).
Initiating the debate on the farmers' issue, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra came down heavily on the ruling BJD and accused it of misleading the farmers in the name of KALIA.
"You (govt) are giving Rs 10,000 to a farmer's family per year under KALIA. Why do you not raise the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2500 per quintal? A farmer owning five acres will get additional Rs 60,000 if he gets MSP at par with Chhattishgarh," he said.
Claiming that farmers are being cheated by not raising the MSP on paddy to Rs 2500 from Rs 1750 per quintal, Mishra said "The state government had earlier admitted in the floor of the assembly that the cost of production of a quintal of paddy was Rs 2344. But, the farmers now get Rs 1750 per quintal. Are they not cheated ?"