NEW DELHI: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has drawn Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention to the farmers plight and demanded that the latter fulfill his poll promise of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) providing a 50 per cent net profit to the farmer over his production costs.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader reminded him of his poll promise of a hike in MSP over production costs, pointing out that ”during the last three years, you have done nothing to fulfill this promise.
The current MSP for various crops fixed by your Government barely provides any returns to the farmer.”
The letter pointed out the agrarian plight of farmers across India, which has resulted in a high level of rural distress, including thousands of suicides by farmers in the past three years. Referring to increasing protests by farmers in one state after another, which had been met by the PM’s ”silence and apathy while the State Governments of your party have let the police loose on the poor farmers,” the letter said.
Six farmers died in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and many were seriously injured in the Mandsaur protests, he reminded even as more farmers continued to commit distress suicides, the latest such tragedy occurring in the CM’s own constituency.
The letter went on to say that ”the two Government agencies, FCI and NAFED, do not buy all the produce of the farmer, even at the existing MSP, forcing the farmer to distress sell his produce at a loss in the market.”
”Under these circumstances, I am writing to you to demand that your Government introduce and pass a legislation in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament which not only confers on farmers the Right to Sell at MSP, but also guarantees an automatic annual review of the MSP which will be, at least, 50 per cent more than the comprehensive production costs as established by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for that year,” the letter added.
The Left leader regretted the response of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s State Government in Maharashtra terming it ”equally inconsiderate and repressive towards the genuine pleas of the farmers”.
He recalled that during his visit to Nashik, 15 months ago, when Maharashtra farmers had blockaded the town, the Chief Minister called for negotiations and asked for six months to settle all the demands. Though 15 months had since passed, the peasantry undertook a unique kisan strike and past weekend’s negotiations followed from there. Even now the kisan organisations had warned that if the latest agreement was not honoured in letter and spirit, they would resume the agitation from July 26, the letter warned. (AGENCIES)
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