Kerala Congress (anti-merger group) chairman P.C. Thomas has called for introducing an agriculture budget for focused spending and planning in the primary sector.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Thomas pointed out that the success of the Indian Railways could be attributed to the benefit enjoyed by the sector in the form of a separate budget, while all other sectors came under the general budget.
“If we can have a separate budget for the agriculture sector, that will result in focused spending in the sector and also help to have a more planned approach to farming. In spite of the great strides the nation was making economically, agriculture still remained the largest employment provider,” he said. A focused spending in this sector would result in enhanced growth rate in the sector.
The party is planning a two-day conference on December 16 and 17 to give shape to an action plan for generating support for the demand.
Mr. Thomas urged the Central government to restore government control on price of fertilizers. Deregulation of fertilizer prices has led to steep rise in prices and scarcity of fertilizers in the open market, he said.
Kerala Congress (AMG) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the police action against students at Kozhikode.
