The Hindu : Need for forum to raise farmers' issues underscored

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Friday, Aug 22, 2003

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Need for forum to raise farmers' issues underscored

By Gargi Parsai

New Delhi Aug. 21. Cutting across party lines, several non-BJP political leaders today underscored the need to come together on a single platform to raise farmers' issues in view of faulty domestic farm policies and the forthcoming Cancun round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations on the Agreement on Agriculture. They were participating at a two-day National Kisan Panchayat under the aegis of the All-India Kisan Sabha chaired by V.V. Raghavan.

While the former Union Ministers, Ajit Singh, Balram Jhakar, Chaturanan Mishra, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Akhilesh Singh (SP) and CPI(M) politburo member, Prakash Karat, assailed the Government for being ``anti-farmer'', the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, noted that not only the provisions of the WTO, but the domestic farm policies of the NDA Government were also adversely affecting the farming community.

``Farmers are suffering today because there is no proper forum to consider their problems. All other sectors have their own lobby. Farmers are divided on the basis of politics, caste, religion and region and this is exploited by rulers.''

Observing that there was no dearth of resources that could be mobilised, Mr. Gowda said those who had the capacity for lobbying took away the money. ``Unless there is political will and commitment to make Indian agriculture competitive, there will be total unrest in the next two to three years and all political leaders will have to move with Z to Y category security,'' he warned.

Interestingly, none of the political leaders who spoke at the panchayat endorsed the working paper for discussion. They set aside the paper and delivered political speeches before the sizable gathering of farmers' representatives at an indoor meeting. Mr. Gowda's lament over his attempts in the past to bring together kisan leaders found an echo in what Mr. Balram Jhakar, Mr. Ajit Singh and Mr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had to say. ``Farmers will have to unite and fight for their rights,'' Mr. Raghuvansh Prasad thundered.

Mr. Karat demanded a raise in public investment in agriculture and rural development, removal of social disparity between workers, extending government subsidy to farm sector and halting reversal of ceiling laws to benefit MNCs and big landlords.

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