Senior Congress leader and Haryana MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala has demanded that the BJP governments at the Centre and State fulfil their poll promise to the farmers about waiving their loans and setting rates of agricultural produce at 50% over and above the cost.
Mr. Surjewala was addressing farmers at Sohna on Thursday during a protest organised by the Haryana Khet Majdoor Congress and the Haryana Krishak Samaj. He said the BJP government had waived huge loans taken by a few industrialists, but was not bothered about crores of distressed farmers, who have not got the promised rates for their farm produce.
Suicides over policies
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report to ensure at least 50% profit on the average cost of agricultural production while fixing Minimum Support Prices for crops, but it was not fulfilled.
Referring to the Mandsaur firing incident, the Congress leader said the “killing” of farmers had exposed the “real anti-farmer face” of the BJP. Most small and marginal farmers are under severe debt and feel compelled to commit suicide due to the wrong policies of the BJP government, he added.
