Tribune News ServiceLUDHIANA, Feb 24 — The Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) will hold a rally in New Delhi on March 19 to protest against alleged anti-farmer policies of the government. Members of the party believed that the government had not made adequate investment in the agriculture sector. The party alleged that, under the pressure of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the government was not declaring the minimum support prices for wheat and the other kharif crops.
Mr Manjit Singh
Kadhian, General Secretary of the Punjab unit of the BKU, in a press note issued here today, said if the Centre did not announce remunerative prices of wheat and the other kharif crops according to the price index, farmers would be forced to take strong action. He said a meeting of the party executive was to be held on March 1.
Mr Ajmer Singh
Lakhowal, President of the Punjab unit of the BKU, said, “Farmers believe that they may have to face harassment at the time of selling of wheat. He said they had faced similar problems while selling paddy.”
He said the Centre’s policies had resulted in the decline in income of farmers in the past decade. Mr Lakhowal and Mr Kadhian said the price of wheat should be fixed at Rs 912 per quintal, of sugarcane at Rs 132 per quintal and of oilseeds at Rs 3,300 per quintal. They said prices of diesel, agriculture machinery, pesticides and fertilizers had increased by 15 per cent compared to the previous year, but the government was still planning to increase the price of wheat.
They said economic conditions in even food-surplus states had deteriorated and farmers would not succumb to the pressures of the WTO.
