BHUBANESWAR: The Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) has threatened to knock on the doors of the court if the BJD government does not allow farmers to enter the State Capital and stage a peaceful dharna to ventilate their grievances.
The Sangathan also threatened it will ask farmers of the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency to give a befitting reply to the ruling party for the ‘injustice’ of using their ballot during the ensuing by-election.
NNKS leader Akshay Kumar alleged though every other group and organisation is being allowed to come to Bhubaneswar to place their demands, the farmers’ community is being prevented by the BJD government continuously from doing so for the last six years.
“The State government has not allowed us to enter the city at least four times between 2016 and 2022 in spite of the fact that our Sangathan follows the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri and believes in peaceful protests,” Kumar said.
The government must not treat farmers as refugees or tenants. “If we are not allowed to exercise our right of peaceful protest, we will be forced to move the court,” he said. Kumar further alleged that the BJD government is busy appeasing industrialists and employees and ignoring the just demands of farmers. Members of the Sangathan alleged that paddy MSP is Rs 2,600 in neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 in Andhra Pradesh. It, however, continues to remain around Rs 2,000 in Odisha.
“What happened to the Rs 100 bonus the government was supposed to give to the paddy farmers?” asked NNKS State coordinator Seshadev Nanda. “If this continues, we will ask farmers to respond to such discrimination with their vote, including in the Dhamnagar bypoll,” he said.
BJD leaders, however, refuted the charges and said because of the pro-farmer policies of the government, the income of farmers in the State has doubled.
“Odisha is the only State that has doubled farmers’ income. Through Kalia, the State has shown the way to the entire nation. Because of Kalia, other specific schemes for farmers were introduced,” said BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.
He said BJD has been demanding the Centre to hike paddy MSP to Rs 2,930. NNKS, instead of protesting in the State, should protest on a larger scale to make this happen.