Hubballi, Nov 22 Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Saturday claimed that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been spreading "blatant lies" about maize procurement and imports in the state.
Speaking to the media in Hubballi, Union Minister Joshi said the Siddaramaiah government has "neglected" the interests of farmers in the state.
"Like someone helpless, the CM is now trying to shift the blame onto the Centre because his own administration has collapsed under failure," he said.
The minister questioned why the state government had not directed distilleries to enter into agreements with the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) or the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to ensure guaranteed procurement of maize for ethanol production.
"These distilleries, licensed by the state government, should have been strictly instructed to enter into formal purchase agreements for maize," he said.
He further asked why the state has not mandated distilleries to procure maize at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Knowing all this, the state government is hiding its "failures" and "administrative paralysis" by blaming the Centre and "misleading" farmers, he charged.
Dismissing the claim that the Centre imported 70 lakh metric tonnes of maize this year, the Union Minister said, "This is a blatant lie, far removed from the truth. In 2025–26, only 0.5 LMT has been imported. Exports are higher - as much as 2.52 LMT."
The import duty on maize is around 50 per cent, which has effectively curbed imports, he added.
According to Joshi, maize allocated for ethanol and industrial use has increased sharply: from 8.29 LMT in 2022–23 to 75.38 LMT in 2023–24 and 125.75 LMT in 2024–25.
The Centre has increased market demand, but the state government has "failed" to ensure that farmers benefit from it, Pralhad Joshi said.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the Centre is always committed to the welfare of the farmers, he remarked.
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