With the farmers’ protest in Madhya Pradesh spilling over to the border districts in Rajasthan, farmers in Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh served an ultimatum on the State government to meet their demands for better crop prices, loan waivers and agricultural pensions.
Amid the mounting anger following the death of five farmers in police firing in Mandsaur, farmers' bodies agitating under the banner of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti announced that an indefinite strike would be launched in Pratapgarh next week if the government fails to address the issues raised by them.
Condolence meetings were organised at Krishi Upaj Mandis and elsewhere in the two districts to pay homage to the deceased farmers. Farmers also halted trucks carrying fruits and vegetables and spilled milk on the streets on Tuesday and Wednesday, while trading activities at the Krishi Mandis were stopped.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi landed at Dabok airport near Udaipur on Thursday and left for Mandsaur via Nimbahera in Chittorgarh district riding pillion on a motorcycle. He was stopped at Neemuch near the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border and taken into preventive custody.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress president Sachin Pilot and leaders such as Girija Vyas, Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath accompanied Mr. Gandhi. Mr. Gandhi was later released in the evening and allowed by the administration to meet the family members of farmers at the inter-State border.
Mr. Gandhi said Congress was in solidarity with the families of farmers who had lost their lives and he would raise the farmers' issues in the Parliament. “In [Narendra] Modi's india, Rs.1.10 lakh crore of bad debts of corporate houses are written off, but not a single rupee of farmers' loans is waived...Farmers are toiling to produce food for the country,” he said.
In a tweet earlier in the day, Mr. Gandhi said the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments were “doing their best to prevent me” from entering M.P. and meeting the families of farmers killed in Mandsaur.
Police have increased vigil in Pratapgarh district, which is barely 30 km away from Mandsaur. A delegation of farmers met Pratapgarh Collector Neha Giri and submitted a memorandum listing the demands for higher minimum support prices for their crops, inclusion of local crops in the MSP list and waiver of electricity bills.
The All India Kisan Sabha, which is the CPI(M)'s farmers' wing, has also decided to launch a State-wide agitation in support of the demands of farmers in Madhya Pradesh. “Problems of farmers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are identical. We will burn the effigies of M.P. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in the demonstrations to be held in different towns on Friday,” AIKS joint secretary Sanjay Madhav told The Hindu.
Rebel Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ghanshyam Tiwari also warned that the discontent among farmers would create the similar problems for the Rajasthan government as those in Madhya Pradesh. “The farmers will adopt the path of agitation if the government ignores their plight. It is high time proper incentives were provided to the agriculture sector,” he said.
