The Congress on Monday came down heavily on the State Government for its ‘anti-farmer policies’, leading to a large number of suicides by farmers during the last several years.
The issue was discussed at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) ahead of the Monsoon Session of the Assembly on Tuesday. The meeting held in the presence of OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik was presided over by Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh.As many as 20 MLAs attended the meeting.
Other MLAs are on the way and will reach Bhubaneswar soon, Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan told mediapersons after the meeting. Shibaji Majhi, party MLA from Lanjigarh, attended the CLP meeting for the first time after he abstained from the 2010 Rajya Sabha polls.
Criticising the State Government for its failure to provide seeds and fertilisers to farmers, Harichandan alleged that the mishandling of the situation has led to this sorry state of affairs. He alleged that farmers in more than 700 gram panchayats are yet to get crop insurance because of the failure of the State Government to compute figures. Harichandan alleged that the State Government is providing 25 kg rice at Rs 2 a kg to BPL families even though the Centre is giving 35 kg of rice per family. He alleged that the State Government has not increased the rice quota even after the Centre increased its share for the State. Where has the rice gone, the Congress leader asked and added that the party members will raise the issue in the House. Besides, the deteriorating law and order situation will also be raised. The number of murders in Puri and the failure of law enforcement agencies have made the town a safe haven for criminals, he alleged.