JOIN USDistrict incharge Minister R V Deshpande has clarified that there is no proposal before the Union government seeking a ban on the sale of arecanut.
Addressing reporters here on Thursday, the minister said that the Opposition parties, in view of the forthcoming elections to the Lok Sabha, were trying to create confusion with regard to the ban on the sale of arecanut. The growers should not pay heed to any speculations in this regard, he said.
He said that the Union government had not filed any affidavit before the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the sale of arecanut. The minister said that he had talks with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in this regard.
He had been assured that the Centre had not received any proposal to ban the arecanut, Deshpande said.