Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee slams Centre for rising fertiliser prices

BANKURA (WB): Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today criticised the state government and the Centre for rising prices of fertilisers, saying no step has been taken to prevent blackmarketing of the vital agricultural input.

The prices of fertilisers have been going up every day, but the state government and the Centre seemed not to be bothered by the plight of farmers, the veteran CPI-M leader said.

"The state government is not taking any step to prevent blackmarketing of fertilisers," he told a rally at Tamilibandh in Bankura town here on the eve of party's youth wing DYFI's state conference.

Praising China for reducing its number of poor people, he claimed that the prices of fertilisers had not increased so often during the Left Front regime in the state.

"Costly fertiliser will lead to food scarcity in the state and the country. West Bengal will no longer remain a leading producer of paddy in the country," Bhattacharjee warned.

He said the fate of the common people in the country had remained the same even 66 years after Independence.

"The Centre is not bothered about the welfare of the poor people in the country. A major portion of the population is jobless. They do not have a square meal daily. The money is being siphoned off to the foreign banks," Bhattacharjee told the meeting.