Opposition joins farmers, opens fire on Centre over agri distress

Police firing on protesting farmers in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, has sharpened political faultlines, with the Opposition Congress — and even NDA allies — accusing the BJP-ruled Central and State governments of ignoring the nationwide agricultural distress.

While two farmers were allegedly killed when the police opened fire in Mandsaur — independent activists and All India Kisan Sabha put the death toll at 5 — and curfew was clamped in Pipalya Mandi area, the Maharashtra government announced that it would come out with a farm loan waiver, one of the demands of the agitating farmers in the State. At the same time, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the farmer agitation was being “milked” by some political leaders.

Opposition fire

The Congress and the Left parties mounted a sharp offensive at the BJP. “The government is at war with the farmers of our country,” said Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in a tweet, quoting news reports about the alleged killing of farmers in MP. “ BJP ke new India mein haq mangne par hamare anndataon ko goli milti hai (In BJP’s new India, the farmers get shot for asking for their rights,” Rahul added.

Kamal Nath, the Congress MP from Chhindwara said, “The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government opened fire on unarmed farmers who were protesting peacefully… Their sacrifice will not go waste.”

The CPI(M)’s farmers’ wing, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), has demanded a judicial enquiry into the Mandsaur firing and hailed the start of a “historic united movement” of farmers against the “consistent denial of remunerative prices and overall agricultural distress”. “AIKS condemns the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government for murdering five farmers and injuring many others in police firing at Pipalya Mandi, Mandsaur. The farmers died inclide Sathyanarayana, Abhishek, Prem Singh, Kanhaiyalal Patidar and Babalu Patidar,” said an AIKS statement.

Prabhat Jha, the BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh, told BusinessLine that farmers were being “misled” by the Congress. “They are playing politics with farmers. Madhya Pradesh is a State where agriculture has flourished. The Congress is behind these dirty tricks. Farmers are happy in MP,” Jha said.

The farmers’ agitation in Madhya Pradesh has been going on since June 1. The main demands include loan waiver, fair prices for crops especially onions and pulses and proper compensation for crop loss. In Maharashtra too, farmers have been agitating for the last over a week and a Statewide Bandh was called on June 5 by different farmer organisations.

The bandh was supported not just by the Opposition, but also by the BJP’s allies, the Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana (SSS).

Talking to Business Line , leader of the SSS and MP Raju Shetty said: “Radha Mohan Singh (Agriculture Minister) and Ram Vilas Paswan (Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) have destroyed agriculture in India. This was a party (reference to the BJP) that promised 50 per cent above the input cost as calculation for MSP to the farmer. The price for every major agriculture produce has, in fact, gone down by 50 per cent in the last two years.”

Shetty said he is in touch with farmers’ organisations in other states and an all-India meeting has been called in Delhi on June 16 to discuss future strategy.

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