RSS-backed farmers’ body attacks Centre

New Delhi: As the farmers’ stir in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra threatened to spread to other parts of the country, RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) said the Centre’s irrational agricultural policies were to blame for the crisis, even as it distanced itself from the violence associated with the agitation.

Opposition parties — chiefly the Congress — are, however, determined to carry on with the stir, with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi likely to visit Maharashtra in the coming week. Mr Gandhi had been arrested when he had tried to enter strife-ridden Mandsaur in Madhay Pradesh last week.

Prabhakar Kelkar, vice-president of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, told this newspaper, “As an organisation associated with the farmers, we have given our full support to the current agitation. However, we dissociate ourselves from any kind of violence.” He said that the Rajasthan state unit of the BKS would launch a fresh stir from June 15.

Another office bearer of the organisation demanded that farmers be given higher prices for crops and farm produce while blaming the Centre’s irrational policies for the current crisis.

BKS national secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra said that the Centre was more concerned about containing food prices than farmers. They are not a priority for the government, he alleged.

Asserting that farmers were buying agricultural inputs on maximum retail prices, he questioned why they should then be getting minimum selling price. “The government should at least ensure the selling price was 20 to 30 per cent more than the cost of production,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior officials at the agriculture ministry feel that the current agitation has the potential to spread to other parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and even Karnataka and Punjab. The farmers have been forced to take the path of agitation due to what is being labelled as a price crash in times of plentiful production.

Political leaders have made a beeline for the affected states of MP and Maharashtra with Mr Gandhi being the first one to court arrest on June 8. On Sunday, Swaraj Abhiyan party leader like Yogendra Yadav and social activist Medha Patkar were among those arrested near Ratlam in Maharashtra.

Sources said that Rahul Gandhi is also likely to visit Maharashtra in the coming week. Patidar leader Hardik Patel is also scheduled to lead a “Kalash Yatra” in the state.

Meanwhile, trying to firefight, the Maharashtra government on Sunday announced a loan waiver scheme.