The Hindu : New Delhi News : Ajit Singh will now take the battle to UP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Ajit Singh will now take the battle to UP

Gargi Parsai

Sweet taste: Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh savouring sugarcane with son Jayanta Chaudhary in Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Having won the struggle with the Central government for restoration of the state advised price (SAP) to be paid to sugarcane growers by millers, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh will now take the battle to his home turf in Uttar Pradesh.

“The whole fight was to have the state advised price (SAP) restored. With the Central government having agreed to delete the contentious section in the sugarcane pricing rule that spared the millers from paying the SAP set by the State government, now we will concentrate in the State [Uttar Pradesh] to ensure that sugarcane farmers get the right price for cane this season,” he told The Hindu.

Mr. Singh said the Mayawati government had declared a price of Rs. 165 to Rs. 170 per quintal on which millers had agreed to pay Rs. 15 per quintal. “But we want the price to be commensurate with the price at which sugar is selling in the market. We will await the decision taken by Indian Sugar Mills Association on the price that they offer.”

State price

To a question on some farmer leaders being unhappy that the Fair and Remunerative Price set by the Central government would remain, Mr. Singh said, “For us what is important is the price fixed by the State government [which is normally higher then the price set by the Central government] and who pays it. Now States will set the price [over and above the Central government’s price] that millers would have to pay.”

Meanwhile, the Mahendra Singh Tikait-led All-India Bhartiya Kisan Union lifted its dharna from Parliament Street on Friday.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi