BJP MP flies to Delhi to meet Piyush Goyal over jute price row

A day after he wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that the Centre's jute policy was a "flawed one", BJP's Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh on Saturday flew to Delhi to meet Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal and hold a discussion in the matter.

Kolkata: A day after he wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that the Centre's jute policy was a "flawed one", BJP's Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh on Saturday flew to Delhi to meet Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal and hold a discussion in the matter. Industry sources said that Singh was called to Delhi after he raised his voice against the Centre. "I am going to Delhi to find a solution to the jute crisis. I have written to five chief ministers of five states (including Bihar, Assam, Tripura), seeking their intervention," Singh said before leaving for Delhi.

The parliamentarian had recently flayed the Centre for "neglecting jute industries of Bengal". He supported Banerjee's demand to remove price cap on raw jute in the open market, asserting that current market-driven prices favour farmers. The sector regulator has capped the price of raw jute for mills at Rs 6,500 per quintal even as the market price exceeded Rs 7,000. Singh said he wouldn't just stop writing letters or holding demonstrations in the jute belt of the state, while ensuring that mill workers get to know how the price cap was affecting them.

The BJP MP had earlier said that "my constituency has 20 jute mills. Every day, I get complaints about how the industries are suffering because of the government's wrong policies. He had also threatened to gherao the jute commissioner's office if his demand was not met. A former TMC leader, Singh had replied in the negative when asked about his possible return to the Mamata Banerjee-led camp.

At least 15 jute mills have shut shop in the recent past, leaving jobs of thousands of workers jobless. On Saturday, A I Champdany Jute at Jagatdal issued suspension of work notice over lack of raw jute and water supply. The jute commissioner, however, had refuted the allegations, stating that the decision on the price cap, which is Rs 2,000 more than the MSP rate, was taken after considering all aspects. The regulator claimed that raw jute had been hoarded, causing distress to the industry.

PTI