HYDERABAD: Hardening his stand further against the BJP, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday dashed off a hard-hitting letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the Centre of trying to corporatise agriculture and glossing over his promise to double farmers’ income by 2022.
The Chief Minister blamed the skewed agriculture policy of the Centre for the steep rise in the cost of production with no government intervention in sight to provide any relief to farmers. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister called upon the people to confront the BJP leaders whenever they spot them and demand answers as to why the saffron party was toeing an anti-farmer line.
“Certain matters in the purview of the Union government are adversely affecting the interests of the farming community in the country and my state,” Rao said in his letter. “By raising the fertiliser prices, increasing fuel prices and faulty fixation of MSP prices, the Central government is not only contributing to increase in the cost of cultivation but also defaulting on the promise of doubling farmers’ income. These
policies, coupled with threat of proposed reforms in agriculture, fixing of meters for electricity distribution are causing a great deal of anxiety among the hard-working farmers of our country,” Rao said.
In February 2016, the Centre had announced that it would double the farmers' income in six years. Despite the passage of over five years, no specific or structured programme had been initiated in this direction, he pointed out. “Contrary to your promise of doubling farmers' income, to the dismay of one and all, input costs have doubled in the last five years and the income of farming community declined, causing distress to farmers,” he said.
“The Central government turned a blind eye to the increasing prices of fertilisers in the last six years, while encouraging States to take up campaigns to reduce the urea and DAP consumption. It is sad to note that the prices of the two most consumed fertilisers 28:28:0 and Muriate of Potash (MoP) have increased by more than 50 per cent and 100 per cent respectively in the last 90 days itself,” the Chief Minister said.
Referring to the cold response to the resolution of the Telangana Legislature to link MGNREGA to agriculture, Rao blamed Modi and said: “While calculating the MSP, the government had deliberately excluded production, essential costs of farm rentals and cost of fixed capital assets. Hence, the claim that MSP is pegged at 150 per cent of the costs of the crop is misleading.”
He added that the Centre had no reliable mechanism of ensuring price guarantee to the farmers for their crops. It was also noticed that under the guise of pegging FAQ standards at global levels, farmers were denied MSP and compelled to sell at lower prices thereby making agriculture non-remunerative, Rao alleged.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister alleged that the increase in fertiliser prices would push agriculture sector into a crisis and break the backbone of farming community in the country. The BJP was totally against the farmers and it has been proved right beyond any doubt, he said.
“The situation had come to such a pass that the farmers had no option but to take up their ploughs and revolt against the Central government,” Rao added. He wanted the people to confront the BJP leaders whenever they were spotted in their villages. If the fertiliser prices were not reduced, farmers would take up nation-wide agitations, he said.