Wednesday, 14 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Questioning the measures taken by the Haryana and Delhi police to prevent the march of farmers, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Uttarakhand Assembly Yashpal Arya has said that the police are harassing the farmers and are depriving them of their legitimate rights. In a statement released to the media, Arya said that methods being used to prevent people from exercising their rights are very undemocratic and reflect the anti-farmer mentality of the Central government.
Arya said that the reasons for the farmers’ movement are clear. The attempt to amend the Land Acquisition Act is to help the capitalists. He added that the farmers have not received the guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) from the government.
Arya said that it was during the Congress government (2004-2014) that the minimum support price of wheat was increased by 126 per cent. “If the present government had used this formula for MSP then farmers would have been getting Rs 3,277 per quintal of wheat instead of Rs 2,275 which they are getting at present. Farmers are getting trapped in the vicious cycle of debt. Since 2013, the debt of farmers has increased by 60 per cent and due to this their condition has become worse from bad. Lakhs of farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana face the problem of delay in payment of their claims,’’ he said.
The LoP added that under the guise of lofty claims about doubling the income of farmers by 2022 an attempt to hide the reality of the farmers is being made by the government. He said that the reality is that farmers are not able to live even a respectable life.
