Lucknow: The BSP and BJP on Thursday staged a walkout from the UP Assembly over issues relating to the inclusion of 17 castes in the list of Scheduled Castes and reduction in subsidy on fertilisers.
On a question over inclusion of castes such as Nishad, Mallah, Kewat, Bind among others in the list of Scheduled Castes category, social welfare minister Avdhesh Prasad informed the House that a cabinet sub-committee had been set up for the purpose of sending recommendations to the Centre.
The sub-committee had already held two meetings and the recommendations would be forwarded in two months time, he said.
However, Leader of Opposition and BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya questioned the relevance of the sub-committee when the Assembly, during the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, had already sent a duly passed proposal to the Centre.
As part of another question, BJP sought to know if the subsidy on urea and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) had been lowered by the Union government and whether the state would think on giving subsidy on the prices which have gone up.
In his reply, Minister for Agriculture Anand Singh said that subsidy had been reduced on DAP.
It was for the first time in 8 to 10 years that the fertiliser had been made adequately available to farmers and wherever possible, the government was providing relief in prices to them, he added.
Over complaints of fertilisers being sold in the black market in neighbouring Nepal, he sought the cooperation of members in checking it.
However, the replies over the two issues failed to satisfy the BJP and BSP and they staged a walkout.
PTI
