Chhattisgarh CM claims to have sought time to meet PM; Sources deny any official request

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday tweeted that he along with all the members of his cabinet has sought time to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, sources told Republic Media Network that no official request has been sent seeking time to meet PM even after 24 hours.

Taking to the microblogging site, Baghel said that in a letter to Prime Minister's Office it has been mentioned that "this year the government of India has received instruction to procure only Arwa rice from the state, where in the past, Usna rice was also procured."

"With this decision, there will be difficulty in the operation of 416 Usna mills established in the state and the livelihood of the labourers working in these mills. Along with this, there is a possibility of difficulty in resolving such paddy produced by the farmers of the state, from which only Usna rice can be made," Chhattisgarh CMO said.

"Adequate supply of gunny bags from the Jute Commissioner is also not being done in time to procure paddy. The Chief Minister and all the Council of Ministers of the state have sought time to discuss with the Prime Minister to resolve these issues and take permission for the procurement of rice," CMO added.

Baghel requests Centre to procure Usna rice

Earlier, Baghel had requested the Centre to procure 'usna' rice from the state. “The Food Corporation of India has decided to accept 61.65 lakh MT of 'Arwa' rice in the central pool from the state. In the past, the Usna rice had been procured. The Centre has been procuring Usna rice from other states,” Baghel said, seeking the government to procure at least 24 lakh MT Usna rice.

Baghel had also appealed to the Central government to allow the manufacturing of ethanol from surplus paddy procured from farmers in the state. He said that due to the surplus production of paddy and lack of requisite cooperation from the Centre at its disposal, the state has to suffer huge losses every year.

"The state government has signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) with eight private investors for manufacturing ethanol to the tune of over 12 crore litre per annum. For this, the co-operation of the Centre is necessary," he said.

(With PTI inputs)