BHUBANESWAR: A day after the ruling BJD announced to demonstrate in front of the Parliament at New Delhi on January 8 over hike in minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, opposition political parties Congress and BJP on Tuesday turned the heat on the State Government by demanding loan waiver for farmers.
Returning from the swearing-in-ceremony of Bhupesh Baghel as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik reiterated that apart from waiver of farm loans, Congress will provide solar pumps and financial support to farmers for five years after the party comes to power in Odisha.
However, senior Congress leader and former union minister Srikant Jena sang a different tune. “The State Government waived Rs 50,000 crore for the mining mafia. Why can’t it waive farm loans?” he questioned at a press conference here. Referring to the hike in MSP of paddy to Rs 2500 per quintal in Chhattisgarh, Jena said in Odisha, farmers are forced to sell at Rs 1500 per quintal. “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should answer this,” he said.
Meanwhile, Odisha Pradesh Kisan Congress (OPKC) announced to hold Statewide agitation on January 8 demanding hike in paddy MSP. OPKC Amiya Kumar Patnaik alleged that BJD’s programme to gherao Parliament house over MSP hike is a drama.
Alleging that 7,272 farmers committed suicide during the last 19 years in Odisha during which BJP was in power for nine years as an alliance partner of BJD, Patnaik said both the BJP Government at the Centre and BJD in Odisha have not fulfilled any of the promises given to farmers.
Stating that all announcements by Odisha Chief Minister are meant for propaganda in view of the coming elections, he said the Agriculture Cabinet, separate Agriculture Budget, Commission on farmers, special package announced by the State Government and Potato Mission have not benefitted the farmers.
The BJP also announced to hold Statewide protest from January 7 and announced that it will gherao the State Secretariat on January 8 over farmers’ issues and farm loan waiver.
CPM to stage dharna near Raj Bhawan on Jan 5
The State committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will stage dharna near Raj Bhawan on January 5 demanding hike in paddy MSP. “Though the State Government has planned to protest on the issue by staging demonstration before Parliament on January 8, it cannot escape by shifting the blame to the Centre,” said CPM State secretary Ali Kishore Patnaik. “Since Odisha Government has passed a resolution in the Assembly urging the Centre to increase paddy MSP to `2,930 per quintal, it should ensure that farmers of the State get their rightful due,” he said. The Government should enhance MSP to `3,000 per quintal in view of the revision of minimum wage in the State, the CPM demanded.