The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Umang Singhar, alleged on Thursday that a fertiliser shortage in the state has been deliberately created, as the BJP state government is in cahoots with black marketeers.
Addressing the media in Bhopal, Singhar claimed that, in a reply given in the Lok Sabha on 25 July 2025 and in monthly bulletins, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers had stated on record that Madhya Pradesh had a surplus of 16.25 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of urea and 7.11 LMT of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), a widely used fertiliser providing nitrogen and phosphorus for plant growth, over the last three years.
Singhar lamented that farmers faced police lathi-charge while standing in long queues for fertiliser, despite the state having surplus stock according to central government data.
“The state government is playing into the hands of black-marketeers,” he charged.
He also accused the state government of failing to curb black-marketing of fertiliser despite having full powers under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the Fertiliser Control Order, 1985.
The LoP said police resorted to lathi-charge on farmers on 8 September at the Vrahatkar Sahakari Sanstha in Bhind, and on 2 September at the Karahiya Mandi in Rewa, when they queued up for fertiliser.
“Today, farmers are being beaten with lathis. Tomorrow, the same farmers will settle scores with their votes. The issue is not the shortage of fertiliser, but the failure of the state government’s planning and management,” Singhar averred.
He argued that the state government did not carry out scientific estimation of demand for kharif and rabi seasons, and also failed to coordinate among the departments of Farmers Welfare and Agricultural Development, Cooperation, and the MP Agro Industries Development Corporation.