BHOPAL: With just a month left for his second term in the Rajya Sabha to end and having already made it clear that he will not seek a third term in Parliament’s upper house, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh has rejected retirement plan rumours stating that he is not quitting politics and will continue to work for the Indian National Congress.
Speaking to media in Bihar on Sunday, Singh said that he had personally requested the party’s national leadership not to consider him for a third consecutive Rajya Sabha term. “But this should in no way be interpreted as my retirement from active politics. I’ll continue to work and fight for the people of the state as well as my party till my last breath.”
Sharing details of a letter he wrote on Saturday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking justice for Basmati rice farmers in 14 districts of the state, the 79-year-old politician said he would go on a fast if justice continued to be denied to the growers. “The country’s PM Narendra Modi, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and state’s CM Mohan Yadav will be responsible for getting long delayed justice to the Basmati farmers of MP.”
“Farmers in 14 districts of MP, spanning from Gwalior-Chambal to Malwa and Mahakaushal to central MP regions have been producing high-quality aromatic Basmati rice for decades. Still, they have been denied the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. In 2013, the UPA regime granted the GI tag to Madhya Pradesh's Basmati rice, but after the Narendra Modi led BJP government assumed power, the tag was withdrawn in 2016. Presently, GI tag has been granted to seven north Indian states and union territories, while MP’s Basmati farmers are denied the same certification due to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).”
“In MP over one lakh farmers are producing 27 lakh metric tonnes of Basmati rice annually. The most popular Basmati varieties are all PUSA varieties, but still the GI tag eludes MP’s Basmati. At a time when MP’s Basmati rice is in high demand in overseas markets, including Europe, US and the Middle East, justice eludes its farmers.”
While noting that Pakistan remains India’s main competitor in the Basmati rice market, Singh said that while Pakistan has extended the GI tag to Basmati rice in 48 districts, targeting a US$ 21 billion export market by 2030, farmers in Madhya Pradesh continue to be denied similar protection despite growing the fragrant rice variety for nearly 100 years.
“I had written a letter to PM Modi on the same issue in 2025, and raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha during the Zero Hour last month. Now it’s time to fight for the rights of our Basmati farmers on the ground in MP,” Singh said while demanding action from the Prime Minister against APEDA officials who, he alleged, have been working against the interests of the state’s farmers for a long time.
The timing of the veteran Congress leader’s letter to the Prime Minister on the GI tag for Madhya Pradesh’s Basmati rice has also gained significance as exports of the crop have reportedly slowed due to uncertainty over shipping routes, war risk surcharges and disrupted trade channels amid the ongoing Iran–Israel conflict.