* Condemns use of force on protesters
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 16: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee today came down heavily on the BJP Govt at the Centre for betraying the farmers on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee and promise of 2014 to provide legal guarantee on MSP as per Swaminathan recommendations and extended full support to them, reiterating the Congress assurance to fulfil their demands on coming to power.
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Expressing grave concern over the atrocities being made on the agitating farmers seeking fulfilment of Modi Ji’s guarantee to them before 2014 general elections and again three years back, the Congress Party strongly condemned the Government for the brutal way of drone attack on the farmers to prevent their march, as if the Govt at war with the farmers who are `Anndatas’ of the country.
Addressing media persons at the PCC office here today JKPCC president, Vikar Rasool Wani said that the entire country has seen the horrible visuals as how the BJP ruled Haryana State police has been resorting to brutal and inhuman ways of preventing farmers’ march. Teargas shells are being lobbed using the drones.
It is surprising as to why the BJP Governments at the Centre and Haryana needed to do all this when farmers were marching on, quite peacefully. Besides, they have a record of having remained peaceful two years ago when not a single untoward incident took place despite all provocations during their one year long sit-in in the outskirts of Delhi.
Flanked by PCC senior vice president and chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, vice president Vinod Sharma, general secretaries Narinder Gupta (Org), TS Tony and Narinder Sharma, JKPCC president said that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Modi are backing out from what they promised repeatedly before 2014. Modi, while campaigning during the run up to the 2014 general elections as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate had himself promised to provide the MSP based on the recommendations of late MS Swaminathan, whom the BJP Government very recently awarded with Bharat Ratna. BJP should have implemented his recommendations as that would be an equally great tribute to him.
When the country’s farmers staged a protest dharna for about one year in the outskirts of Delhi two years ago, the Prime Minister promised to consider legal guarantee for the MSP. Two years have passed but nothing has happened. The same farmers, in order to remind Modi of his promise, decided to march towards the national capital. But they are being prevented and barred from moving towards the national capital.
He said that the Congress party made a historical announcement on Tuesday at Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh promising to provide legal guarantee for MSP for various crops. This has been the long pending demand of the farmers from across the country.
The Congress party in its Raipur Session had also promised in its resolution on Agriculture that it will provide legal guarantee for MSP. The party has assured the farming community that it will be the first and foremost agenda of the INDIA Government the moment it assumes office after 2024 General Elections, he added.
Modi promised to double the farmers’ income by year 2022. Ten years have passed and farmers’ income has dwindled after taking into account various factors like inflation and other input costs. More farmers have been committing suicide during the Modi’s regime than in the past. The price rise is at a historic high. The gas cylinder prices have more than doubled. The prices of diesel and petrol have also doubled despite the fact that the crude prices in the international market today are far less than what they were before 2014.