Union Minister Pralhad Joshi at a press conference in Hubballi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: KIRAN BAKALE
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was telling a blatant lie on procurement and import of maize by the Union government in a bid to cover up the State government’s failure.
Addressing a press conference in Hubballi on Saturday, Mr. Joshi alleged that unable to do any good for the farmers of the state, Siddaramaih led government was trying to blame the union government to cover up its failures.
Instead of taking quick measures for the procurement of maize, providing a minimum support price, and towards ethanol production, Mr. Siddaramaiah was telling blatant lies, he said.
The Union Minister has sought to know from the Chief Minister why the distilleries in the State had not been instructed to tie up with NCCF or NAFED for ensuring guarantee procurement of maize for ethanol production.
He also sought to know why the government had not made it mandatory for the distilleries to procure maize at the minimum support price. “Is it not true that the State government has the authority to implement guidelines for local procurement?” he asked.
Moreover, the statement that the Union government had imported 70 lakh MT of maize was a blatant lie. “During 2025-26, so far, only 0.5 lakh MT of maize has been imported. On the contrary, the export of maize is 2.52 lakh MT. In fact, 50% import duty on maize has effectively prevented imports,” he said.
“In fact there has been an increase in allocation of maize for ethanol and industrial use. It was 8.29 LMT in 2022-23, 75.38 LMT in 2023-24 and 125.75 LMT in 2024-25. Compared to 2022-23 there is an increase of 1,417% and it is 66% increased when compared to last year. The union government through its measures has increased the demand for maize but the state government has failed to pass on the benefit of it to the farmers”, he alleged.
The Union Minister urged the State government to take remedial measures immediately instead of blaming the Centre for every single problem.
Published – November 22, 2025 07:42 pm IST
