SP stages walkout from UP Legislative Council over minister’s reply

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party members staged a walked from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council on Tuesday, claiming that they were dissatisfied with answers to questions related to the agriculture department.

Replying to a question by Man Singh of the SP, Agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi gave details about the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the National Food Security Mission being run by the government for the benefit of farmers.

In a supplementary question, SP member Swami Prasad Maurya asked how many centres were set up for purchase of Rabi crops in 2022-23 and what the government was doing to solve the problem of stray cattle destroying crops on a large scale.

The minister, however, said Maurya's question was not related to the main question but added that the state government was trying to ensure that purchase centres are run in a proper way.

He said that shelters have been made for the stray cattle in all development blocks of the state. In these, more than 13 lakh stray cattle have been kept, the minister said.

The state government is making proper arrangements for them and is trying its best to ensure that there is no damage to crops from stray animals, he further said.

Dissatisfied with the answers of the minister, SP members, including Maurya, entered the well of the House and later walked out raising "anti-government" slogans.