Farmers Movement Archive

Cong. accuses Centre of plot to ruin farmers

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Ved Prakash Vidrohi has accused the Narendra Modi government of abuse of power to clear the controversial farm bills and hatching a “conspiracy” to ruin farmers financially and socially and make them slaves of big corporate houses. He also termed the announcement of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for rabi crop a month earlier than usual an attempt to “emotionally blackmail” the farmers. Mr. Vidrohi, in a press statement on Tuesday, said the Modi government had, on the one hand, tried to “cheat” the farmers by clearing the farm bills with abuse of power and, on the other, played a cruel joke on them by announcing a paltry 2.5-6% hike in the MSP for rabi. He said the BJP government was committing “fraud” in the name of increase in the MSP as well. Mr. Vidhrohi said the Modi government had announced the MSP hike earlier this year to pacify the agitating farmers and “emotionally blackmail” them. He added the media had already begun the “sponsored acclaim” of the Modi government soon after the announcement. Mr. Vidrohi said the increase in MSP for wheat, gram, barley and other crops was “a drop in the ocean” when the farmers were hit the hardest by the economic crisis due to COVID-19. “Instead of extending adequate financial help to the farming community, the BJP government has rubbed salt to farmers’ wounds by announcing a meagre hike,” he said, adding that it was an attempt to fool the farmers on the continuation of MSP provision. Mr. Vidrohi, also president “Gramin Bharat”, an NGO, demanded that the BJP government, instead of making false promises, should come clean on the matter and bring a law to make the purchase of crops at MSP mandatory.

The Hindu

2020-09-23

GURUGRAM