Bhopal, April 9 The Congress staged protests outside collectorates in several districts of Madhya Pradesh over farmers' issues, with one of its leaders making controversial remarks against Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
During a protest at the collector office in the Shajapur district, AICC secretary and former MLA Kunal Choudhary alleged that Chouhan, who was the state's chief minister for the longest time, had "lost his mental balance".
"He has gone mad," Choudhary said while criticizing agricultural policies under Chouhan. He also blamed delays in wheat procurement on the policies of the Union agriculture minister.
Earlier, Congress workers broke the chain gate of the collectorate during the protest and raised slogans outside the collector's chamber.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari also targeted the Centre and the state government.
"Wheat procurement has not begun in many places, forcing farmers to wait outside mandis in the heat. In some places, mandis have remained closed for days while the government is busy celebrating events," he said in a statement.
Patwari also questioned Chouhan's claim that farmers' income had increased eight-fold, asking farmers whether they had actually seen such a rise.
Promises made during elections, including procurement prices of Rs 2,700 per quintal for wheat, Rs 3,100 for paddy and Rs 6,000 for soybean, have not been fulfilled, Patwari said.
Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar also joined protests in Sehore and accused the BJP of ignoring farmers' concerns.
"Small farmers were forced to sell their produce due to delays in procurement. The process began only under pressure from the Congress," he alleged.
Responding to the allegations, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Govind Singh Rajput said wheat procurement had commenced from April 9 in Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal and Narmadapuram divisions.
He said 1,616 quintals of wheat were procured at 45 centres on the first day, while procurement in the remaining divisions will begin from April 15.
"A record 19.04 lakh farmers have registered for wheat procurement this year, about 3.6 lakh more than last year," he said.