BJP says PM's Vidarbha package inadequate

New Delhi, July 1: Terming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's relief package for Vidharba farmers as a ''temporary dose'', the BJP today said the it was not only ''inadequate'' but also sidestepped the problems of the cotton growers.

BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the farmers committed suicides because terms of trade were against their interests in the recent years. The government had reduced the duty on imported cotton, suppressing domestic prices and thereby making cotton growing unremunerative, he added.

He said the Prime Minister during his two-day tour of Vidarbha had addressed the ''problem of indebtedness in a peripheral manner.'' ''Dr Singh has also not addressed the genetically modified BT Cotton seed related issue and was silent on loan waiver to help the affected families,'' he added.

Mr Javadekar said the BJP demanded an immediate reworking of Minimum Support Prices and increase in the import duty on cotton.

UNI

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