Madhya Pradesh Marks The First Anniversary Of The Mandsaur Firing
It was Mandsaur firing incident that had ignited the row of farmers protest last year. Every political party has to learn it's own lessons from last year's farmers protest but every party seems to blow it's own trumpet on the anniversary of Mandasaur firing incident. While a mix response has been received so far by a united opposition to fuel another row of farmers protest, the ruling regime is also busy facilitating farmers. On one hand, June 6 has become a day for landmark decision of Rs 8,000 Cr special package for farmers including Rs 1200 Cr for purchase of buffer stock of Sugar by cabinet, the opposition (headed by Rahul Gandhi) on the other hand has announced farm loan waiver within 10 days of the formation of government by them in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier to this, Agriculture Secretary of India, SK Pattanayak had ruled out the possibility of farm loan waiver as part of the government policy and RSS supporter Rashtriya Kisan Sangh’s VP Prabhakar Kelkar has also raised intention of loan waivers by farmer unions. Kelkar infact has moved a step ahead and termed loan waiver as a dolly to rich and influential landowners, as poor and marginal farmers usually pay their small amount of loans in the prescribed time frame.
Cabinet's decision on a special package to sugarcane farmers has been seen in the light of damage control by union government ‘keeping it's recent electoral loss in Sugarcane rich belt of Uttar Pradesh’. Amid the battle of winning farmers mandate, Congress president has blamed current govt as sympathisers of industrial houses and said that farmers suicide has increased in the recent years while number if farmer suicides have come down substantially in last few years. As per NCRB data where 13 per cent farmers used to be the percentage of a total number of suicides in India till 2008 it got down to just 9.4 per cent of a total number of suicides in 2015.
Record production may be a major reason for less number of farmers committing suicide but NPA’s from agriculture has also remained low in comparison to other trades.
It is to be noticed that Swaminathan commission's recommendation on MSP has been the benchmark demand for all the farmer's agitations besides the current budget announcement by FM Arun Jaitley for procurement of various agriculture commodities by the government on a new MSP formula has been termed as a welcome step by none other than MS Swaminathan.
The battle in the name of farmers is getting intense leaving small and marginal farmer, merely a spectator.
