[ad_1]
Rubber Board vice-chairman K.M. Unnikrishan held a meeting with Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Thalassery (Syro-Malabar Church) Joseph Pamplany at the Thalassrey Bishop House on Friday.
The meeting gains significance in the wake of the archbishop’s statement at a public rally in Kannur last week that the farmers would support the BJP government at the Centre if the price of natural rubber was increased to ₹300. This had led to a big political controversy.
Both of them mainly discussed agricultural issues during the meeting.
After the meeting, Mr. Unnikrishnan said the archbishop’s statement regarding the fall in rubber prices is of serious concern. The Central government takes such issues seriously and it will be brought to its attention.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary M.V. Jayarajan in a statement said that the Union Minister’s reply to the MPs that they will not fix the support price for rubber is a testimony of the the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s betrayal of the farmers.
He sought to know how rubber could fetch ₹300 without fixing a minimum support price. The Union Budget has specified that the import tax will be 25% or ₹30 per kg, whichever is less.
He said that LDF MPs Elamaram Kareem, Jose K. Mani and Binoy Viswam pointed out that the price of natural rubber cannot be increased. The farmers’ distress can be resolved through a minimum support price as requested by the Thalassery Bishop.
[ad_2]
Source link
