Farmers Movement Archive

Modi govt. misleading farmers: Raju Shetti

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) chief Raju Shetti on Monday said the Narendra Modi government is misleading farmers on the benefits of contract farming by passing the contentious farm Bills in Parliament. He said, “The passing of the Bills in the Rajya Sabha is an attempt by the government to corporatise farming. The Centre is trying to shirk its responsibility of giving farmers the minimum support price (MSP) by pushing it on corporate houses.” He said corporate firms are not bound to guarantee farmers fair prices for their produce. “There is no provision in these Bills as to how our farmers are going to be guaranteed fair prices. They will end up at the mercy of big corporate entities and powerful middlemen once these Bills become law,” said Mr. Shetti, who is a former two-time MP from Hatkanangale in Kolhapur. Mr. Shetti said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is planning to sever ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as their deep discontentment among farmers over the Bills.“A party like the SAD with origins in the rural hinterland is contemplating exiting the NDA. This shows how much opposition there is to these bills in rural areas,” he said. The SSS and the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) are among major farmer organisations in Maharashtra that will be participating in the all-India bandh called by the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Samanvay Samiti on September 25. The SSS will also be launching a State-wide campaign, Kisaan bachao, Corporate hatao (Save farmers, eliminate corporates). “We will be intensifying this campaign in stages,” Mr. Shetti told The Hindu from Kolhapur. Dr. Ajit Nawale, State general secretary, AIKS, said the Centre’s actions are fundamentally ‘anti-farmer’ and the passage of the Bills is a “betrayal of farmers and the agriculture sector”. He said, “We agree that corruption within agricultural produce market committees (APMC) must be stopped and there should be a competitive environment outside them. However, if farmers have grievances within APMC, then we have to take recourse to solve them. But no such alternative exists in this corporate model offered by the Central government.”

The Hindu

2020-09-22

Pune