Farmers’ struggles now taking place all over the country have created an atmosphere conducive for the defeat of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance in the next elections, All India Kisan Sabha joint secretary Vijoo Krishnan has said.
Mr. Krishnan, who played a key role in organising the Farmers’ Long March to Mumbai, was in the city on Tuesday to open a session on ‘Corporatisation during fascist rule’ at the Festival of Democracy. The BJP’s promises in the election manifesto in 2014 included implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan commission recommendation that farmers would be given a minimum support price of 50% above their cost of production; reducing farmers’ suicide and increasing the number of man days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
However, the Union Agriculture Minister later told a delegation led by Kisan Sabha leaders that the promises in the manifesto were only aimed at “garnering votes”. The Union government gave an affidavit in the Supreme Court why it could not implement the recommendations as it would “distort the market”.
“This clearly showed which side the government was on — corporates,” said Mr. Krishnan.
Farmer suicides
He pointed out that over 36,000 farmers had committed suicide between 2014 and 2017, and the highest among them were in BJP-ruled Maharashtra. About 70% of the suicides were from either BJP-ruled States or from places where they were in power in alliance with other parties.
There was also another tendency of underplaying farmer suicides in certain States. In Punjab, though 1,200 suicides happen a year, official records showed only less than 200.
The number of man days under MNREGA had come down to 40 and the funds for the scheme had been drastically cut.
Also, thousands of acres of farm land had been acquired for big projects all over the country.
“What is happening in the country is the Modi-Adani model of corporate loot of land and resources. The ongoing struggle by farmers, Dalits and other groups is against this form of governance,” said Mr. Krishnan.