On Sugarcane Farmers' Dues, UP Minister Says "We Made Most Payments"

Shamli is in western UP, from where farmers protested against the farm laws, and from where opposition parties are hoping to pick up votes at the expense of the BJP

With 20 days left for the election, the issue of payments to sugarcane farmers has taken centrestage in western UP's Shamli, from where the state's Sugarcane Minister, Suresh Rana, will be contesting.

Speaking to NDTV from Taprana village in Shamli district, Mr Rana claimed the Yogi Adityanath government had outperformed those led by the BSP and the Samajwadi Party.

"We have made the most payments... when BSP was in power Rs 55,000 crore was paid out over five years. But the Yogi government has paid over Rs 1.5 lakh crore," he said.

However, when it was pointed out that in his constituency - Thana Bhawan - around Rs 200 crore was due in arrears to the sugarcane farmers, the minister hit back, saying: "Our government has paid 90 per cent of all dues. Your information is incorrect... we are continuously making payments."