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As farmer associations from Tamil Nadu mustered support for a general strike on April 3 to press for their demands of a loan waiver and distribution of fair relief among the drought-affected, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined about 100 protesting farmers at the Capital’s Jantar Mantar square and extended the Congress’ help.
The farmers’ radical protest at Jantar Mantar – using human skulls and bones, staging mock funerals and holding dead rats in their mouths to mirror their dire circumstances – have generated much interest with the Congress, DMK and the Left parties supporting their demands. The farmers are demanding a drought relief package of ₹40,000 crore from the Centre, farm loan waiver and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board.
Rahul, who has been fairly active in raising farmers’ demands, spent interacted with the farmers and promised them that the Congress would raise their demands in Tamil Nadu and in Parliament.
“The people and farmers of Tamil Nadu deserve to be heard by the Prime Minister who is disrespecting them by not initiating any dialogue,” Rahul said after listening to the farmers’ leader P Ayyakkannu.
“Over the last three years, debts worth ₹1.4 lakh crore held by 50 industrialists have been written off. Why the same is not being done in case of the farmers? Why are their debts not being waived? It is the Prime Minister’s responsibility to do so,” Gandhi said.
“The Centre needs to provide debt waiver, drought relief and better support price to the farmers. Also the Prime Minister should at least start talks with them,” Gandhi said.
Most parties barring Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK and the BJP have extended support for the April 3 strike call given by Tamil Nadu Farmers Associations Joint Management, an umbrella body of several farmers organisations.
To make the stir a success, the farmers are planning rail and road blockades to draw the authorities’ attention to the what is believed to be the state’s worse drought in a long time.
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