CM slams Mamata, BJD over potato crisis

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday targeted Mamata Banerjee, his counterpart in neighbouring West Bengal, and the previous BJD government for the potato crisis in the State. Not self-sufficient in potato production, Odisha depends a lot on West Ben-gal for its requirement for the tuber and faces problems when the neighbouring State stops sup-plying the produce to cater to its home demand.

While addressing an agricultural event here, Majhi and Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo slammed Banerjee for the potato scarcity in Odisha. “Facing potato crisis in Odisha, we have talked to Mamata didi, but in vain. She settles a score on us at the appropriate time. There is no ‘mamata’ (affection) in Mamata didi for Odisha,” Majhi said. The Chief Minister, however, did not elaborate on how Banerjee is settling a score.

Majhi also blamed the previous BJD government which he accused of failing to make Odisha self-sufficient in potato and onion production. During the last six months since the BJP came to power in June last year, Odisha has faced an acute potato crisis allegedly because of West Bengal stopping supply.

In his speech at the ‘KRUSHI ODISHA 2025’, Singh Deo also targeted Banerjee and accused her TMC government of “blackmailing” Odisha’s BJP government during the potato crisis.

“West Bengal is blackmailing Odisha by stopping potato-laden trucks. But the State (Odisha) government has devised a plan.

We have been encouraging farmers to undertake potato culti-vation in a big way from this year,” the Deputy Chief Minister said. He said the State govern-ment in December 2024 has provided 1.6 lakh kg of potato seeds to 1.80 lakh farmers to under-take cultivation of the tuber.

In 2023, only 45,000 kg of potato seeds were used by the farmers in the State, said Singh Deo who also holds the agriculture portfolio. He said the State government was also making provi-sion of cold storage in 58 sub-divisions of the State.

Majhi criticised the previous BJD government accusing it of failing to increase the State’s pota-toes and onions. The

BJD government had launched the Potato Mission and also Jackfruit Mission in the State. Both missions failed. It is something like “operation is successful, but the patient is dead’,” Majhi said mocking the Naveen Patnaik regime.

Earlier, Odisha’s Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra had also blamed the

West Bengal Chief Minister for the potato crisis in the State. Odisha needs around 10.21 lakh MT of potatoes in a year, and it produces only 20 per cent of its requirement.