The farmers' agitation on Thursday, had been an attempt by sugarcane farmers to highlight their troubles on the first day of the winter session of the parliament. It was however, overshadowed by the commotion raised by politicians in the Parliament.
“JAI JAWAN Jai Kisan”, a motto given by the second prime minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri during the sixties, holds no ground in today’s India. The farmers of India, have seen little chanfe in their conditions, even as the economy continues to be based on Agriculture, with its share accounting for 16.6 per cent of the GDP.
Hundreds of farmers still remain below the poverty line and face several encumbrances, such as lack of electricity, telecommunication, link roads and educational facilities. In urban areas, secondary and senior secondary schools are easily visible but, students belonging to rural areas have to commute as much as ten to fifteen kilometres, to go to a school. This in turn means that few continue their schooling, adding only to unskilled labour, which remains unemployed.
For politicians, farmers remain as only vote banks, who are exploited by the former for the fulfilment of self centric goals during elections. Once elections are over, farmers are left to live in their squalid conditions. The farmers' agitation at Jantar Mantar on Thursday, November 19, was a similar example. While sugarcane farmers had sought to highlight their troubles on the first day of the winter session of the parliament, they were overshadowed by the commotion raised by the opposition, leading to an adjournment.
Politicians were also seen joining farmers in their agitation, some of the notables were Ajit Singh from Rashtriya Lok Dal, Arun Jaitley from BJP, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh from Samajwadi Party. Leaders from the CPM and CPIM were also seen in the crowd. Heavyweight farmer leaders like Mahendra Singh Tiket were also there.
The 2009 Sugarcane Control (amendment) ordinance revamped the sugarcane pricing policy, which has not gone down well with the farmers. It had fixed a uniform, fair and remunerative price for the produce. If the states wished to pay more than the FRP, they would have to pay from their own state coffers. Farmers had objected to this price and demanded that it should be raised from Rs 108 to Rs 280.
In the backdrop of the agitation, emerging congress leader Rahul Gandhi too met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to look into the sugarcane pricing issue. "We will not do anything that goes against the farmers. The government will look into the matter again and if it is in the interest of farmers the Ordinance will be suitably amended", said the Prime Minister.
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