Hyderabad, Oct. 20: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, was noncommittal on the demand put forth by the state government as well as Opposition parties to allow export of rice.
The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, discussed the issue with Dr Singh during their travel in the city on Tuesday much before submitting a formal memorandum to the Prime Minister at the Begumpet Airport prior to his departure.
While agreeing with Mr Rosaiah on the state receiving a bumper harvest, the Prime Minister said the overall picture in the country was not that rosy. “Any decision on export has to be taken keeping the requirements of the country in view,” he told the Chief Minister.
Briefing mediapersons about his interaction with Dr Singh, the Chief Minister said the state only wanted lifting of export ban on those varieties of rice which were not consumed in the state.
But in the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, Mr Rosaiah sought the lifting of a ban on export of all varieties of non basmati rice including super fine rice. The Prime Minister’s cautious reaction disappointed both the government and Opposition parties as both had been lobbying to ease out restrictions on rice export for the benefit of the millers though they have been promoting it as a measure to aid farmers.
“Our intention is to facilitate evacuation of stocks with the millers to ensure that farmers get a better price,” said the Chief Minister.
0 comments:
Post a Comment