The BJP on Monday announced it would stage an indefinite sit-in protest outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in favour of 12 demands made by the city’s farmers which the Delhi government is yet to deliver upon.
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said these include subsidies on agricultural machinery, dropping tractors from the list of commercial vehicles leading to higher registration tax and payment for crop loss to the tune of ₹400 crore with retrospective effect.
Mr. Bidhuri and Delhi Pradesh BJP Kisan Morcha president Vinod Sehrawat said the protest would begin on February 9.
“Chief Minister Kejriwal had promised the farmers of Delhi that free electricity would be provided for irrigation but did not fulfil this promise. The demands of the farmers to instal tubewells for irrigation and to provide electricity connections have also not been fulfilled,” the leader said.
“The compensation on the land to be acquired from the farmers should be increased to ₹10 crore per acre. The scheme of giving alternate residential plots to the farmers whose land is acquired should be revived and the Lal Dora of the villages should be increased,” Mr. Sehrawat said.
The BJP leaders also sought to remind the Chief Minister of the demand for subsidy on agricultural machinery, fertilizers and tractors and said that farmers have been demanding the removal of tractors from the category of commercial vehicles for a long time. Farmers whose crops have been destroyed due to the recent rains, they added, should be given a compensation of ₹50,000 per acre.
“The Chief Minister had announced that 50% of the MSP is being paid separately to the farmers of Delhi, but this is not true; ₹400 crore should be paid from 2018 till now. The development of villages has come to a standstill for four years, it should be also started,” Mr. Bidhuri said. “The Delhi government has been reminded of the demands of the farmers, but the Aam Aadmi Party-led government is not paying any heed. So, we are now being forced to stage a dharna,” he added.
