MK joins issue with Jaya on enhanced price for sugarcane

Chennai, Dec 2 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today joined issue with his predecessor J Jayalalithaa on enhanced procurement price for sugarcane.

Reacting to Ms Jayalalithaa's charge that the DMK Government should further hike the State Advisory Price (SAP) for sugarcane, the Chief Minister, answering a set of questions, said the previous AIADMK government, which had not hiked the price for four years was now pointing an accusing finger at the DMK Government.

Detailing the price fixed by the centre and the price announced by the state since 1995, Mr Karunanidhi said, the DMK, while in power, had increased the price every year over and above the price fixed by union government.

During 2000-01, the centre had fixed the price at Rs 740 and the then DMK government had fixed the SAP at Rs 775. It was in this year, the the DMK Government, for the first time, had announced a procurement price of Rs 1000 per tonne of cane.

But after the AIADMK came to power, when the Centre fixed the price at Rs 620.50 for the year 2001-02, the then AIADMK government fixed the price at Rs 775. When the centre increased the price to Rs 695 in 2002-03, Rs 730 in 2003-04 and Rs 745 in 2004-05, the Jayalalithaa Government's price remained unchanged at Rs 775, he pointed out.

Only in 2005-06, after its debacle in the Lok Sabha elections and with an eye on the Assembly elections, did the AIADMK Government raise the price to Rs 1014 against the centre's price of Rs 795.

On Ms Jayalalithaa's charge that the DMK Government had hiked the price only by Rs 3.50 and not by Rs 11 as the centre itself, had increased the Minimum Statutory price from Rs 795 to Rs 802.50.

Mr Karunanidhi said when the union government hiked the prices of petroleum products, the AIADMK leader says the DMK had a role in it and when it hiked the price for cane, she wants to give the credit to the centre.

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