Farmers in death trap, govt refusing help, alleges Pilot

Kota: Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot on the concluding day of his four-day 100-km Kisan Nyay Pad Yatra from Baran to Jhalawar expressed full confidence over his party winning the assembly election in 2018 and parliamentary elections in 2019.

Pilot alleged that farmer community in the state is living constantly under severe stress, in cycle of more loans, regular crop failure, very low minimum support price (MSP) of the yield and farmers are in the death trap while the government refuses to help them.

Pilot was on Friday morning speaking to TOI at the home of a Meghwal family in Mandawar village of Jhalawar district where he spent the night on the third day before starting the Yatra for the concluding day to his destination, Jhalawar district headquarter, the home town and constituency of chief minister Raje.

"We had to take out the Yatra because of circumstances as for last four years, Rajasthan government has deliberately ignored the rightful demands of the farmers," Pilot said and pointed out if the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Maharashtra have announced farmer loan waiver, it is obvious the farmers of Rajasthan would expect the same but it is irresponsible and biased for them (state govt.) to expect Rajasthan farmers not to want loan waiver. At least 80 farmers have committed suicide and the sad part is that the BJP government even today refuses to acknowledge their deaths and actually the farmers of the state are living in denial. It is very sad that never before the farmers have been ignored and left to themselves, he said.