New Delhi, July 19: Centre's Rs 609 crore package for sugarcane growers of few states like Uttar Pradesh has run into further rough weather with Maharashtra today announcing plans to bring together states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat to "protest against discriminatory attitude of New Delhi". "We will have to bring together all these states for a combined action against the discrimination," Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters after a meeting with Food Minister Sharad Yadav.
Shinde's action came a day after Maharashtra's political heavyweight and NCP leader Sharad Pawar has written to Yadav, requesting that his state be extended the financial aid under the scheme as well. The Maharashtra chief minister contended that the Sugar Development Fund (SDF), from which the aid is proposed to be extended, is an all-India corpus whose benefit should not be restricted to a handful of states. He pointed out that cane-growers from the state have contributed 35 per cent of the fund.
Shinde also briefed Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue who has assured him to take up the issue in Parliament. Senior Congress leaders Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee were also present for some time during his meeting with Gandhi. The chief minister said that he has also taken up the issue with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh. Bureau Report