BJP holds massive Kisan Rally in Delhi

Protests UPA's anti-farmer policies, warns serious agrarian crisis
By Deepak Kumar Rath

The UPA government instead of helping the farmers by offering cheap credit in this hour of crisis, has left them literally in the lurch. The cooperative structure is on the brink of collapse and is not able to serve the complete interests of the farming community.

"It is for the first time after Independence, that the farmers in the country are facing such a bad situation and have been compelled to commit group suicides because of the Congress-led UPA regime. The agrarian crisis has swept across the country and farmers in prosperous states like Punjab, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh too are ending their lives”, alleged senior BJP leader Shri L.K. Advani while addressing a mammoth Kisan Rally at Ram Lila Grounds, Delhi.

A huge gathering of more than 60 thousand farmers was present from different states at the rally.

The BJP Kisan Morcha organised the rally to expose the anti-farmer policies and food imports scandals of the UPA government. The Indian agriculture is facing a real crisis and the situation is deteriorating rapidly and the entire farming sector is heading for a total collapse.

The farmers’ woes were largely reflected at the heart of the national capital, when the thousands of angry farmers made a bee-line to Parliament to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister amid slogans like Jitna daam videshi ko, Utna daam swadeshi ko, Bharat ki janta roti hai, Kendra sarkar soti hai, and Dal main kuchh kala hain, Gehun ke ayat main ghotala hain.

Leader of Opposition Shri Advani asserted that the crisis over the Indo-US nuclear deal had put the UPA government in the dock and had cast serious doubts over the future of the UPA government. He added that the mid-term elections are now a certainty. “It can fall within two months’ time or in four months time”, he said and pointed out that the present crisis is of its own making and others cannot be blamed for it.

“The government has flawed economic policies. The talk of high growth becomes meaningless in the face of huge disparities”, Shri Advani said to clarify the claims of the UPA government. He also alleged that the farmers are facing total discrimination. He emphasised that a direct investment is needed for rural economy to put the rural folk on the path of development.

BJP President Shri Rajnath Singh who was also union agriculture minister in the NDA government lambasted the UPA regime for the agrarian crisis the country is facing today and urged the Prime Minister for urgent remedial actions. The BJP chief said that the complete ineptitude, total neglect and callous approach of the UPA government in dealing with the serious crisis has led to the strong protest in the national capital. He added that the government is displaying a clear lack of agenda for reforming the ailing agriculture sector and has totally failed to deliver on its promises. He said the farmers of the country urgently need a ‘new deal’ but it seems that the government is busy with other deals.

“The agrarian crisis is multi-dimensional and requires a comprehensive approach. The Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of most agriculture produce have risen only nominally. The recent MSPs declared by the UPA government is totally unacceptable, as the MSPs do not reflect the actual ground reality and does not assure the farmer of remunerative prices”, the BJP chief said and added that unfortunately, the UPA government has no concern for the country’s food security and safety of the farmers.

“The UPA government has practically abandoned the Farm Income Insurance Scheme launched during the NDA rule, which guarantees minimum income to the farmers even in natural calamities. Present-day Crop Insurance Schemes basically do not cover all the crops and farmers and it is essentially a Crop Loan Insurance Scheme for the bankers”, he lamented.

The UPA government instead of helping the farmers by offering cheap credit in this hour of crisis, has left them literally in the lurch. The cooperative structure is on the brink of collapse and is not able to serve the complete interests of the farming community. Unless the agriculture loan is made available at four per cent of interest, the farmers will continue to suffer in a hostile environment, the BJP chief alleged.

Senior BJP leader Dr M. M. Joshi questioned the decision of the UPA government to import wheat at exorbitant prices. This is yet another example of misdirected solutions to the overall agrarian problem. The way the wheat import orders were cancelled and then reissued clearly points towards the existence of a serious scam. The government which pays merely Rs 850 per quintal to the Indian farmers is paying Rs 1300 per quintal for imports. Moreover, now there are reports of importing atta (flour) also.

Dr Joshi while pronouncing a battlecry said that the post-Independence era should have: a hunger free India, loan-free farmers. (bhukh mukt Bharat; karz mukt kisan)

Firstly, the government miscalculated the internal production, which is actually five million tonnes more than last year. Secondly, government did not do enough to procure adequate quantity to bolster the buffer stock. Thirdly, the government was unable to control the hoarding of the essential commodities by private companies, which were allowed to purchase wheat directly from the farmers. Fourthly, the government declared its intentions of importing wheat too early, which in turn triggered a spectacular rise in the prices of wheat in the international markets. Lastly, the government cancelled the tenders of May 2007 at $263 per MT citing prices as too high and merely ten days later approved tenders at $325 per MT. All this is a clear proof of a big scam, which needs a thorough probe, Dr Joshi demanded.

The BJP in the memorandum to the Prime Minister said that it would launch a nationwide agitation on farmers’ rights and issues if the UPA government does not immediately and comprehensively addresses all these problems with the required seriousness.

Among the senior leaders who were present in the rally were former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu, general secretary Gopinath Munde, the BJP Kisan Morcha president Vinod Pande, Delhi BJP chief Dr Harshvardhan, Vijay Goel and BJP vice-president M.A. Naqvi.

The Kisan Rally organised by BJP demands immediate action on the following:

1. A JPC probe into the wheat import scam.
2. Agriculture loans at four per cent of interest.
3. Implementation of Farm Income Guarantee Insurance Scheme as envisaged by the NDA government.
4. Immediate payment of dues to cane growers.
5. Adequate and timely supply of seeds and fertilisers.
6. Immediate upward review of MSPs for all crops.

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