BARGARH:Odisha Government is insensitive to the woes of farmers and neglecting agriculture, said the six-member delegation of national BJP Kisan Morcha, which visited the district on Friday.
The BJP team, comprising,MP from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh Sabitri Thakur,vice-president of Morcha
Maheswar Sahu, general secretary P Sugrakar Rao, secretary Sambhu Kumar, MP from Siwan in Bihar Om Prakash Yadav and president of Andhra Pradesh BJP Kisan Morcha P Tirupati Rao is on a three-day visit to western Odisha.
The delegation was accompanied by BJP leaders K V Singh Deo, Pradeep Purohit, Aswini Sarangi besides the functionaries of frontal wings of the State BJP.On their arrival from Chhattisgarh, members of the BJP delegation called on the family of Khageswar Meher of Meherpada in Luharachati village who committed suicide on August 24. They met Shakuntala, widow of Meher, and discussed relief and assistance she has received after the death of her husband.
Later talking to the media at Sohela, the members said they would look into the issues plaguing agriculture in the State and submit a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and chief of the Morcha Virendra Singh Mast.
The members further accused the State Government of neglecting farmers. Collection of `25,000 tax on tractors is unfortunate, they said and added that such high tax was not in vogue in States such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
The BJP team also visited Jaring and Kandagad in Bijepur block, Kusanpuri in Barpali and Haldipali in Bargarh and interacted with farmers.The members also met the family of Brunda Sahu in Kalapani village and visited farm land affected by pest attack. They stressed on strengthening irrigation in rain-fed areas and said Odisha Government has failed to mitigate the sufferings of farmers.
On the other hand, spokesperson of Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti Saroj Kumar said the visit of the BJP team is a hogwash. “If the BJP is so concerned about the welfare of farmers, let the Prime Minister implement the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission and provide the promised 1.5 times of the profit above cost of production to farmers.
Referring to the killing of farmers at Mandsaur, atrocities on ryots in Madhya Pradesh and farm deaths in Andhra Pradesh, Saroj said the delegation should first address the woes of farmers in these States before looking for solutions in Odisha.