Bhubaneswar: The Left parties on Friday rejected the Centre's increase of Rs 200 in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy per quintal.

Now, the MSP of paddy has been fixed at Rs 1,750 per quintal.

State secretariat member of the CPI(M) Janardan Pati said: "This is an eye wash. The BJP has betrayed the cause of farmers."

Pati said: "We will organise jail bharo andolan on July 9 in front of all the district headquarters. Thousands of farmers will take part in the protest that day."

He said: "The MSP should be regulated taking the comprehensive cost of the production of paddy that includes the interest a farmer incurs against his loan and the labour cost. Besides, additional 50 per cent of the comprehensive cost should be included while fixing the MSP."

Pati said: "A robust mechanism should be developed to calculate the MSP on an early basis. A legislation should be brought in this regard. Our national leaders have submitted a memorandum to this effect to the Prime Minister. It should be taken into consideration."

He also criticised the BJD, stating that it was making only a show of being concerned about farmers.

"Why did they initially welcome the Centre's decision on MSP?" he asked.

Earlier, the state agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy had criticised the Centre on the MSP issue. He had said: "The increase is not acceptable to the farmers of the state. The farmers would continue to incur losses."

He had even shot off a letter to Union agriculture minister Radhamohan Singh and demanded that the MSP must be 1.5 times the full cost of the agriculture production.

He had also reminded the minister how the Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution in this regard and later it had been sent to the Centre.

Last year, the Centre had hiked the MSP on paddy from Rs 1,470 to Rs 1,550 per quintal. However, the state is demanding that the MSP of paddy per quintal must be fixed at Rs 2,930.

The Congress has also decided to hit the streets on the issue. Pradesh Congress Committee working president Chiarnjeev Biswal said: "The MSP should be fixed at Rs 2,930, according to the resolution passed by the Assembly."