Hubballi, Nov 22 (LatestNewsX) – On Saturday, Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi took to the podium in Hubballi to accuse Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of pushing “blatant lies” about the state’s maize procurement and import figures.
He slammed the Siddaramaiah administration for “neglecting” farmers, saying the CM now looks helpless and tries to pin all blame on the Centre as his own government crumbles.
Joshi queried why the state has not directed its licensed distilleries to enter formal purchase agreements with the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) or the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), which would secure guaranteed maize for ethanol production. He added that these distilleries should have been strictly instructed to sign such contracts and that the state should have mandated a minimum support price (MSP) for their maize purchases.
Highlighting what he called the state’s “failures” and “administrative paralysis,” Joshi alleged that the government is hiding its shortcomings by blaming the Centre and “misleading” farmers.
He dismissed the claim that the Centre imported 70 lakh metric tonnes of maize this year, calling it a “blatant lie” and stated that only 0.5 LMT was imported in 2025–26 while exports climbed to 2.52 LMT. The high import duty of around 50 percent, he noted, has effectively curtailed imports.
According to the minister, maize earmarked for ethanol and industrial use has surged dramatically—from 8.29 LMT in 2022–23 to 75.38 LMT in 2023–24 and 125.75 LMT in 2024–25—yet the state has failed to ensure farmers reap the benefits of this increased demand.
Pralhad Joshi concluded that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Centre remains steadfastly committed to farmers’ welfare.
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