Coinciding with the “MSP Adhikar Divas” observed by All-India Kisan Sangarsh Co-ordination Committee, a conglomeration of around 250 farmers groups, on Wednesday, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav set out on a tour across Haryana to take stock of the procurement of Kharif crops and create awareness on three farm legislations.
Holding a press conference here, Mr. Yadav said he would visit the grains markets in neighbouring Nuh to begin with and reach Sirsa, the epicentre of the farmers protests in Haryana against the controversial legislations, on October 18. He will travel through Rewari, Mahendragarh, Charkhi Dadri and Bhiwani.
No response from govt.
“We have been visiting the grains markets for the past four years in the State and sent suggestions to the government to improve procurement. But there is no reply,” said Mr. Yadav.
Maintaining that the sit-in at Sirsa’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium would continue till the farmers’ demand to rollback three legislations is met, Mr. Yadav conceded that the protests against the new laws in Haryana were mostly confined to the districts bordering Punjab. He added that the farmers in south Haryana were in fact affected more and there was a need to create awareness among them. He, however, said that protests were held at around 10,000 sites across 20 States on September 25 in response to the call for “Bharat bandh”, indicating widespread resentment.
Mr. Yadav also made an appeal to the farmers across the State to come and join the agitation at Sirsa.
He said that AIKSCC had decided to observe October 14 as “MSP Adhikar Divas” to expose government on the issue of Minimum Support Price. Saying that MSP was a “fraud” and “loot”, Mr. Yadav claimed that government announced the support price for only 23 crops and a little over 6% of farmers were benefited.
He said many restrictions were imposed such as cap on maximum procurement per acre, need for prior registration and a village-based schedule and thus, very few were benefited. “Despite the annual rhetoric to procure every single grain, only around 30% millet was procured in Haryana,” quipped Mr. Yadav.
In reply to a question, he said the government had a long way to go before it could fulfil its promise to double the income of the farmers and demanded that the MSP be decided as per the “comprehensive cost formula” suggested by Swaminathan Commission.
On the government’s invitation to the Punjab farmers for talks on the three farm laws, Mr. Yadav opined that it “lacked sincerity”. He said that not much was expected to come out from the talks until the government was “willing to reconsider” the laws and politically empowered people were involved in the process.