BJP wants 'middlemen' in paddy procurement: BJD

The ruling Biju Janata Dal on Friday accused opposition BJP of advocating for middlemen who sustained huge losses due to the "transparent manner" of paddy procurement directly from farmers by the Odisha government.The BJD's statement came in the wake of the BJP leaders launching a mass agitation in western Odisha, alleging gross mismanagement in paddy procurement and farmers being denied the minimum support price (MSP). "When paddy procurement has happened in a such huge scale benefiting farmers, some 'dalals' (middle-men) have caught hold of BJP leaders and they are advocating for these dalals," BJD spokesperson Shreemayee Mishra said. Mishra also said the BJP launches agitations in Odisha in order to divert the attention from the farmers' protests underway in Delhi.

She said there has been a record bumper crop in Odisha and lakhs of farmers have benefitted with high levels of paddy procurement. In 2019-20, procurement rose to 70.56 lakh metric tonnes, and MSP transfers to farmers increased to Rs 12,808 crore, she said."The BJD government stands guarantee that every single bag of paddy of genuine farmers will be procured," she said.Mishra also said a delegation of BJD MPs met Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday and resolved issues relating to rice procurement and subsidies.