Unleashing a verbal attack on Union Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their ‘pro-corporate’ and ‘anti-people’ governance, social crusader Anna Hazare declared that he would launch a fresh wave of agitations at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi from March 23 this year.
He was addressing a farmers' conference, organised by the Hyderabad Karnataka Raitha Sangha, here on Sunday.
“The [Union] government is concerned more about big industrialists than about farmers. It showed more interests in waiving corporate loans and no interest in waiving farm loans. I have recently written a letter to the Prime Minister clearly stating this fact... Narendra Modi had promised to bring back black money stashed offshore and deposit ₹15 lakh in the accounts of each citizen. Not even ₹15 is deposited. I had kept quiet for the last three-and-a-half years thinking that the new government under Modi needed time to act upon its poll promises. But, nothing happened in the direction of realising the poll promises. It is enough. I will launch a fresh agitation against the Union government from March 23 in Ramlila Maidain in Delhi," he declared.
Recalling the overwhelming public response to his previous anti-corruption and right to information agitations that were successful in forcing the government to enact pro-people laws, the veteran Gandhian activist said the next agitation would focus on farmers' issues. He said that as many as 12 lakh farmers had ended their lives in the last 22 years and the suicides never disturbed successive governments.
"Everybody in power behaved as if nothing had happened despite massive farm suicides. Everybody is keen on safeguarding the interests of powerful industrialists and not the poor farmers. Farmers are the worst-hit community as it never got scientific prices for their crops. State Agriculture Price Commissions, basing themselves on field reports about the cost of cultivation and other factors, recommend prices [MSP] to Union government and the latter deliberately cuts them by up to 50%. What is the need to reduce the prices when they are recommended by experts based on objective field reports? Mr. Modi, during the last Lok Sabha election campaign, had promised that he would implement the M.S. Swaminathan Report [that recommended an MSP that is at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production of a given crop]. Three-and-a-half years have gone by and there is no sign of implementing it,” he said.
Apart from scientific prices for the crop, Mr. Hazare added, the agitation would also put forward a demand for a decent pension to farmers aged 60 or above.
“The farmers (Old Age Pension) Bill is gathering dust in Parliament for the last several years. Nobody is interested in passing it. Where will those farmers who shed their sweat and blood throughout their lives for feeding the country go at the end of their lives when they were not able to toil anymore to support themselves? It is the duty of the government to take care of them. Our agitation will demand at least ₹5,000 old age pension to all farmers,” he said.
He called upon the farmers to join hands with him in the peaceful agitation and get ready to go to jail for the cause.
Siddeshwar Swamy of Jnana Yogashram, Vijayapura, who declined the Padma Shri award, agriculture scientists and farmers' leaders were present.
