Former Haryana chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday criticised the BJP government's decision to increase sugarcane prices by Rs 15 per quintal for the 2026-27 season, calling it a "cruel joke" on farmers at a time when agricultural input costs were rising.
Hooda said the increase was inadequate to compensate farmers for the higher costs of cultivation and accused the state government of failing to ensure remunerative prices for agricultural produce.
His remarks came a day after Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced a cumulative increase of Rs 35 per quintal in sugarcane prices over the next two years.
Under the revised rates, the price of sugarcane will rise from Rs 415 per quintal in 2025-26 to Rs 430 in 2026-27. It will be increased by another Rs 20 to Rs 450 per quintal in the 2027-28 season.
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐, ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐
In a statement, Hooda claimed that sugarcane farmers had received substantially higher price increases during the Congress government's tenure between 2005 and 2014.
He said the procurement price had risen from Rs 117 per quintal to Rs 310 per quintal during that period, representing an increase of Rs 193.
According to Hooda, this translated into an average annual increase of approximately 18.3 per cent.
In contrast, he said the sugarcane price had increased by only Rs 120 per quintal during the BJP's 12 years in power, from Rs 310 to Rs 430.
He described this as a cumulative increase of around 39 per cent, or an average annual increase of approximately 3.25 per cent, based on his calculations.
Hooda claimed that the annual rate of increase under the Congress government was nearly six times that recorded during the BJP's tenure.
"When it comes to providing fair prices to farmers and ensuring price hikes, the BJP falls far short of the Congress," he said.
๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP government had failed to adequately address the increasing financial burden on farmers.
He said the prices of diesel, petrol, cooking gas, agricultural machinery, fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and labour had risen, making cultivation increasingly expensive.
Hooda argued that higher production costs were eroding farmers' earnings and that modest increases in procurement prices were insufficient to provide meaningful relief.
He also warned that inflation could approach double-digit levels, further increasing pressure on agricultural households.
The former chief minister alleged that rising expenses were forcing some farmers to consider abandoning agriculture because of declining profitability.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ ๐ต๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
Hooda also targeted the BJP over the recent increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat, describing the revision as inadequate.
He said the wheat MSP had been increased by only Rs 25 per quintal, equivalent to 25 paise per kilogram, despite the rise in cultivation expenses.
The Congress leader alleged that the decision demonstrated the government's failure to provide sufficient financial support to farmers.
Referring to the previous Congress administration in Haryana, Hooda said the procurement price for wheat had been raised from Rs 600 to Rs 850 per quintal in 2006-07, an increase of Rs 250 at one time.
He added that farmers had also received an additional bonus of Rs 100 per quintal during that period.
Hooda cited the earlier increase to argue that governments could provide more substantial price support when agricultural welfare was treated as a priority.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ
The Haryana government's announcement covers two successive sugarcane crushing seasons, providing a revised price schedule for farmers supplying cane to sugar mills.
The immediate increase of Rs 15 per quintal will apply during the 2026-27 season, followed by a further Rs 20 increase in 2027-28.
While the state government has announced the higher rates, Hooda maintained that the revision did not adequately reflect the financial challenges faced by farmers.
His criticism adds to the continuing political debate in Haryana over agricultural procurement prices, input costs and the level of government support needed to sustain farm incomes.
The former chief minister reiterated that farmers required meaningful increases in crop prices rather than what he described as marginal revisions that failed to keep pace with their expenses.