Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he would be holding a sit-in on Thursday in the state capital if the Centre did not sanction Rs 5,000 crore for farmers whose crops were destroyed recently in hailstorms.
The BJP has called for state-wide strike that day to highlight the central government's alleged indifference toward MP.
Chouhan told reporters the crop losses due to unseasonal rain and hailstorms should be declared a national calamity and a special package of Rs 5,000 crore announced for the state.
He alleged the Prime Minister had denied him an appointment and he was left with no option but to hold a sit-in.
Chouhan said he and his ministerial colleagues would sit on dharna from 10am to 2pm on Thursday, if the Centre didn't respond to his appeal for help.
The CM also demanded that a Central team should be immediately sent to assess crop losses, claiming rabi crops in 10,000 villages have been damaged in rain and hailstorms.
The state government has announced Rs 2,000 crore for the affected farmers.
He also accused the UPA government of harming the interests of the country's farmers by raising the support price of gram but at the same time allowing its import at cheaper prices.