Opposition Congress and BJP members on Monday walked out of the State Assembly over the farmers’ issues even as Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout appealed to them “not to instigate peasants” to commit suicide.
The issues relating to the farmers was discussed in the House through an Adjournment Motion when the Congress and the BJP came down heavily on the Government and accused it of failing to protect the interests of peasants, who have been severely hit during this Kharif season.
The farmers have been severely affected by drought, pest attack and unseasonal rains, they pointed out and alleged that the Government has failed to reduce their miseries. Several farmers committed suicide out of frustration, the Opposition members alleged.
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of the Congress was critical of the Government’s policies and wanted a reply from the Agriculture Minister on the modalities of the assistance to be given to actual cultivators instead of land owners.
Mishra said the existing laws do not allow the sharecroppers to receive assistance over the crop loss. Over 90 per cent of the farmers in the State are sharecroppers, who cultivate land owned by others. Unless the law is changed, the actual cultivators cannot get benefit, he said.
Mishra also wanted to know the means of fixing the rate of agricultural input subsidy to be given to calamity-hit farmers. While the Government has announced crop loss assistance of Rs 6,800 per hectare in non-irrigated areas, the rate for irrigated areas is `13,500. He wanted to know how the cost of production differed in the two areas.
Congress members Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Naba Das and Anshuam Mohanty also participated in the debate.
As the Minister failed to satisfy Mishra, the latter led the Congress members and staged a walkout.
The BJP members, who blamed the Government for its inability to create required awareness on the pest attack, also walked out of the House as the Minister kept narrating the story of Bargarh farmer Brunda Sahu’s death last month.
BJP member Pradip Purohit alleged that ruling BJD leaders were hand in gloves with the pesticide suppliers, who distributed spurious pesticides among the farmers. He demanded an inquiry into the nexus between the pesticide suppliers and BJD leaders.
Denying Brunda Sahu’s death as agriculture-related, Minister Rout claimed that the farmer had been instigated to commit suicide. He also appealed with folded hands “not to instigate farmers” to commit suicide.
He claimed that Odisha farmers don’t commit suicide like in other States. “Our farmers undertake cultivation to make a living and not for commercial benefits. Therefore, they do not commit suicide,” he argued.
The Minister cited some instances in a bid to substantiate his claim how natural deaths of farmers are given colour of suicides over crop loss or loan burden.
Claiming that the Government is sensitive towards farmers’ problems, Rout said, “We have announced an assistance of `720 crore for drought-affected farmers, `128 crore for pest attack-hit peasants and `364 crore for the cultivators who lost crops due to unseasonal rains.”