The Congress accused the BJP government in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh Friday of furnishing inflated figures of agricultural production to get the Union Government's 'Krishi Karman Award'.
The BJP dismissed the allegation, calling the opposition party's claim as a mere jugglery of data.
"Madhya Pradesh got the Krishi Karman Award five times....False data were furnished to the Centre to get this award," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said at a press conference here.
The state government told the Centre that agricultural production in Madhya Pradesh in financial year 2012-13 was 287 lakh tonnes, but in the data furnished next year (2013-14), the production for 2012-13 was shown as 234 lakh tonnes, he claimed.
Such discrepancy was seen in later years too, Surjewala added.
The Krishi Karman Award was instituted in 2010-11 by the Congress-led UPA government to encourage agricultural production growth, he said.
The Congress leader however parried the question when asked why the UPA government did not notice the discrepancy in the data provided by the state.
Agriculture census released in September this year showed that the area under cultivation in Madhya Pradesh shrank by 1.66 lakh hectares between 2010-11 and 2015-16, he said.
State BJP vice president Vijesh Lunawat said the Congress was trying to mislead people.
"Congress wants to fight through the media while the BJP is working for the welfare of farmers. This is a jugglery of data. Congress-led UPA government had also given the Krishi Karman Award to Madhya Pradesh," he said.
The Congress has lost ground in the state and the BJP will retain power in Madhya Pradesh for the fourth consecutive term in November 28 election, Lunawat said.
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