New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS): Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday slammed the central government for increasing the prices of fertilizers ahead of sowing season.

Priyanka Gandhi, in a tweet said, "BJP government has increased NPK price by Rs 275 and NP by Rs 20. Diesel prices have been increasing daily and has reached Rs 100. Under BJP rule, workers and farmers are buried under the burden of inflation. Only Modi's friends are getting richer."

Her statement came after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday announced that the increased prices of Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers approved earlier shall be rolled over for the whole of 2021-22.

The increased prices, vide notification dated May 20 this year, would be applicable from October 1 till March 31, 2022, the CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided.

The Union Government has decided to increase the subsidy by Rs 438 per bag of DAP as a special one time package so that farmers can get DAP at the same price.

The increased international prices of raw materials for production of three most consumed NPK grades (10:26:26, 20:20:0:13 and 12:32:16) have been absorbed by the Centre by increasing subsidy by Rs 100 per bag on these NPK grades as a special one time package so that farmers can get these fertilizers at affordable prices.

The Centre has brought Potash Derived from Molasses (PDM) under Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme for the first time since its inception in 2010 to give a push to its manufacturing by Sugar Mills as a by-product. This Fertilizer is known as PDM-0:0:14.5:0.