TRS MPs Move Notice For Privilege Motion Against Union Minister Piyush Goyal Over Paddy Procurement

TRS MPs said the Minister made a wrong and misleading statement that the Government of India cannot export under the WTO regime.

Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders On Monday served a notice to move a privilege motion against Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal for misleading the Houses of Parliament on paddy procurement. 

The TRS MPs said in a statement, "We, the undersigned Members propose to move a Privilege Motion under Rule 222 against Piyush Goyal, Minister of Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution for deliberately misleading the Parliament and Members over the issue of Export of boiled rice to other countries".

The TRS MPs, Prabhakar Reddy, Venkatesh Netha, Maine Srinivas Reddy, Nama Nageswara Rao, BB Patil, Kavitha Malothu, and Ranjith Reddy, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, claiming that the Union Minister had stated in response to a question raised in Rajya Sabha on April 1 that India cannot export boiled rice due to WTO restrictions and that state governments must fend for themselves.

This was to a suggestion made by the member that there were lakhs of tonnes of boiled rice lying with the states which have no market value nor is the FCI lifting as per obligations under government rules. He suggested that the said rice could be exported to other countries to help the farmers here.

The TRS MPs said that the minister made a wrong and misleading statement that the Centre cannot export under the WTO regime.

But the fact is that India was exporting millions of tonnes of parboiled rice to other countries, as shown on the Government’s website. The details of the same are enclosed, said TRS leaders.