BJP alleges fertiliser shortage; attacks Alagiri, Pawar
By IANSFriday, August 6, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged Monday that farmers were facing problems in getting fertilisers and accused Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M.K. Alagiri and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of not paying enough attention to the issue.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said farmers in several states were facing problems due to scarcity of fertilisers and were being forced to pay extra money for it.
Referring to Alagiri’s absence from parliament, Javadekar said that the minister “does not feel accountable to parliament”.
Speaking about Pawar, he said that the other minister who should look out for the interests of farmers was “busy in ICC (International Cricket Council) and IPL (Indian Premier League).”
“Who will listen to the problems of farmers?” Javadekar asked, adding that the government should facilitate fresh private investment in fertiliser production.
The BJP leader, who had raised the issue during zero hour in the Rajya Sabha Monday, said the government should also form a soil health mission to prevent overuse of fertilisers.
