The Hindu : Mayawati meets PM on cane issue

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Monday, Apr 28, 2003

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Mayawati meets PM on cane issue

By Our Special Correspondent

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, in New Delhi on Sunday. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt.

NEW DELHI APRIL 27. The sugarcane crisis which has hit farmers in Uttar Pradesh was discussed at a meeting between the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, and the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today.

The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Food Minister, Sharad Yadav, the Agriculture Minister, Ajit Singh, the State Minister dealing with the issue, Premlata Katiyar, leaders of the State BJP unit, Vinay Katiyar and Lalji Tandon, and senior officials of the Food and Agriculture Ministries were among those present.

The BJP, which is worried about its eroding support base in the State and its worsening relations with its coalition partner, the Bahujan Samaj Party, had, in fact, planned a meeting between Ms. Mayawati and Mr. Advani to sort out matters. But that could not take place as Mr. Advani had to leave for Jaipur. Party sources, however, insisted, that a one-on-one meeting between Mr. Advani and Ms. Mayawati was long overdue and would take place sooner rather than later.

As against the minimum support price of Rs. 64 a quintal of sugarcane fixed by the Centre and a much higher recommended price of Rs. 95.50 by the State, farmers have not been able to get their sugarcane lifted as sugar mill owners claim that sugar prices have crashed.

Talking to presspersons after the meeting, Mr. Yadav said he would soon convene another meeting to find a solution and bring relief to farmers. The Union Ministers, the Law and Commerce Minister, Arun Jaitley, and the Agriculture Minister, Ajit Singh, Ms. Mayawati, Ms. Katiyar and representatives of sugar mill owners and sugarcane cooperatives would be called.

He hoped the Centre and the State could together take a decision that would end the uncertainty for farmers. He did not agree with the view expressed by Ms. Mayawati that the State should be left to fix the minimum support price to ensure that private sugar mill owners gave the remunerative price to farmers.

Mr. Yadav said he would not like to disrupt the mechanism of a support price by the Centre at this juncture. The immediate task was to ensure a fair price for farmers.

Today's meeting was reportedly confined to the problem of sugarcane farmers, but BJP sources indicated that more high-level meetings in the days ahead would take up "political issues" and other problems such as power shortage in the State.

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