The Congress has been trying hard to draw political mileage out of the death of farmers in Madhya Pradesh (“M.P. govt. shunts out Collectors, SP”, June 9). Media footage was proof enough that the Congress has been only shedding crocodile tears in the hope that the unrest brings disrepute to the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has forgotten about the farmers who have ended their lives in Karnataka, a Congress-ruled State. The Congress is living in a fool’s paradise if it thinks that it can make political capital out of the farmers’ agitation to win forthcoming elections.
K.V. Seetharamaiah,
Hassan, Karnataka
It appears that Rahul Gandhi is focussed on fishing in troubled waters, with his advisers waiting to sniff out trouble spots in NDA-ruled States for him. He is then there in a jiffy trying to inquire into the ‘perceived grievances of the aggrieved’. It’s a different story altogether that he didn’t have the least inclination for such activities when his party was in power at the Centre for 10 years, nor in the few States where his party is now in power. How can he be oblivious to overall agrarian distress across India?
Suri R.,
New Delhi
Is this the price farmers have to pay for raising their demands in a democratic country? Now that the Madhya Pradesh government has admitted to police firing, the question that should follow is this: why did the police not use tear gas to quell the protests? For an economy where 50% of the people are employed in the agricultural sector, what are the steps being taken to boost productivity? Why doesn’t the government adopt modern farming practices? Three years ago, the BJP projected itself as a party that had farmers’ interests at its heart. Why is the Prime Minister now silent?
Gaurav Bhatia,
Faridabad, Haryana
The fact is that neither the UPA nor the NDA have taken any positive steps to address the real problems of farmers. While Opposition leaders, especially the Vice-President of the Congress Party, never bothered to visit affected farmers during the UPA reign, it is shocking that they have wasted no time in reaching Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh to meet aggrieved farmers and add fuel to the fire. It is time that all these leaders forget their egos, sit across the table and thrash out the real problems of our farmers who toil hard to feed the aam aadmi. Waiver of loans is no solution as it is proving to be only a political gimmick.
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
