Farmers Movement Archive

‘Congress to raise issues of Bihar farmers’

PATNA: Congress will launch a movement soon to highlight the deplorable condition of farmers in the state, said the party’s Bihar incharge Bhakta Charan Das on Saturday. Talking to the media after his tour of 14 districts, Das said the state farmers were being denied fair price for their crops. “Bihar is set to become a centre of farmers’ agitation in the days to come. We will go to panchayats and villages to create awareness about their rights and also the adverse impact of the three new farm laws of the central government,” he said. Assailing the state government for low paddy and wheat procurement, he said only 01% of the wheat has been procured by the government agencies. “There is no takers of maize crops in the state and the cultivators have been left in the lurch,” he alleged. Referring to the poor procurement target set in Bihar, the former Union minister said the state government’s target is to procure only 30-40 % of paddy from the farmers while the Chhattisgarh government has procured 90% of the crop. He said the Nitish Kumar government strongly backed the farms bills because it had abolished the Agriculture Marketing Committee Act (AMCA) in 2006, bringing the ‘mandi’ system to an end. Highlighting the problems faced by the sugar cane growers in the state, Das said the minimum support price (MSP) of sugar cane has not been revised in the last four years. The MSP of sugar cane was fixed at Rs130 per quintal, he lamented. Accusing the state government of being apathetic towards sugar cane growers, Das said all the sugarmills in the state were closed and the government didn’t take any initiative for their revival. When asked about the little impact of the ongoing farmers’ agitation in the state, Das said it couldn’t gain momentum as adequate preparations were not made for the purpose. “We have lent moral support to the farmers’ agitation against the farm laws,” he asserted. Congress legislature party leader Ajeet Sharma said the farmers would leave no stone unturned to force the central government to repeal the farms laws. “The prolonged agitation of the farmers has exposed the Narendra Modi government at the Centre,” he added. Earlier, Congress MLC and principal spokesperson Prem Chandra Mishra congratulated Das for his endeavour to enthuse party workers and leaders during his tour of 14 districts. He also praised Das for being a good taskmaster in the party. State Congress chief Madan Mohan Jha, former state president Anil Sharma, spokespersons Harkhu Jha, H K Verma and Rajesh Rathorre were also present at the press conference.

The Times of India

2021-02-07

Patna