The former Army Chief, General V.K. Singh, on Friday indicated that he may join a gherao of Parliament unless the UPA government rejected a proposal to do away with the State Advisory Price and Cane Reservation Area system for sugarcane.
At a press conference, organised by the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, he said he fully backed the organisation’s demand for rejection of the proposal as it went against the interests of the sugarcane farmers of north India.
The proposal was made by a high-level committee set up by the Centre.
Releasing a letter that he and the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan’s convener had sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, General Singh said he could join a gherao of Parliament if the government did not accede to the farmers’ demand.
“We will cross the bridge when we reach there … Whether the situation will come or not, we will see. I am quite sure the Prime Minister is competent enough to re-look at the report [of the committee].”
‘Revenue-haring ratio unfair’
He backed the farmers’ demand as the revenue-sharing formula suggested by the panel was unfair and did not provide a level playing field for the northern States.
The panel had suggested 70 per cent revenue be paid based on an average 10.31 per cent recovery of sugar, but the sugar recovery was below 9 per cent in the northern States, he said.
