Foodgrains: MP CM writes to 8 CMs

Bhopal, Aug 7 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written to his counterparts in eight states urging them to write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the Centre's slashing foodgrain quota for families Above Poverty Line (APL).

Official sources said here today that Mr Chouhan wrote to chief ministers of Bihar, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Chhatisgarh. The Chief Minister urged his counterparts to meet Dr Singh if their missives went unanswered.

''Foodgrain prices went up by 21 to 135 per cent in this state between April 2004 and July 2, 2008. The Centre is allotting more foodgrain to Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Asom, Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir,'' Mr Chouhan wrote.

The Chief Minister has written to the Premier to enhance the quota for APL families.

UNI SHD-AC PK KN2120