Members of the Kerala Congress(M) walked out of the Assembly on Wednesday in protest against the State and Central governments’ failure in addressing the problems of the small and medium farmers.
Party leader K.M. Mani, who gave notice for an adjournment motion on the problems being faced by rubber, coffee, pepper, paddy and other farmers, said the anti-farmer policies of the Central and State governments were taking a heavy toll on the life of farmers.
He wanted the State government to waive the loans of small and medium farmers, clear the pumping subsidy arrears for three years, distribute farmers’ pension arrears, and raise the minimum support price for rubber from ₹130 a kg to ₹200. He accused the government of failing to send an all-party delegation to the Centre to take up the issues.
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Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar blamed the Centre’s policies for the fall in price of agriculture produce. Still, the State government had taken all effort to clear the farmers’ pension arrears till August and devised a system for direct payment for paddy procurement.
The area under paddy cultivation had gone up. He accused Mr. Mani of turning a blind eye to the efforts of the State government, in spite of the alleged neglect of the Centre.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that successive governments at the Centre had ignored the problems of farmers, but the present State government, with limited resources at its command, was committed to ensuring a fair price for their produce.
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Based on the government explanation, Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan denied leave for the notice and the members walked out in protest.