While Income did not increase, the pain increased several folds : Congress on claims by Modi Government
New Delhi, January 19, 2022: The poor, labour and farming class of India had faithfully voted, relying on the promises made by Modi ji, but he betrayed them. The Modi government and the BJP have attacked the farmers, in whose hands the fortune of nation lies & India will never forgive them. This was stated by Randeep Singh Surjewala, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Alka Lamba.
In a joint statement released here, these leaders said that it has been six years since Narendra Modi had promised the farmers of the country in his rally in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh on February 28, 2016 that he’ll double the farmers' income by 2022. Now it is 2022, the income has not doubled, the pain has definitely increased several folds.
They said that six years after that rally, the Modi government released the NSSO report in September 2021, stating that the average income of farmers has been reduced to ₹27 per day and the average debt has gone up to ₹74,000 per farmer.
The DNA of Modi government and BJP is anti-farmer-labourer. As soon as the BJP and Modi government came to power in May 2014, to grab the land of the farmers, one after the other they brought three ordinances against the fair compensation law for the land. Then they stopped the bonus of Rs. 150 given by the state governments on wheat and paddy. Then gave an affidavit in the Supreme Court and said that if the MSP + 50% is given, then the market will be ruined. Then they brought a crop insurance scheme for the profits of the companies.Then by implementing taxes on taxes they increased the cost of cultivation by 25,000/hectare. Then to benefit a handful of capitalist friends they brought three black anti-farming laws.
These leaders said that not only this, 700 farmers were forced to commit suicide. They were murdered as orders were passed to lathi charge them mercilessly. Nails and thorns were laid in their path. When even this did not quench their thirst, farmers were trampled to death by the jeep of the Minister of State for Home in Lakhimpur-Kheri.
Let us know sequentially:-
1. The story of the plight of the farmers as told by the report of the Modi government
The report released by the National Statistical Office (NSSO) in September 2021 on the status of agricultural households in rural India has revealed a shocking revelation. The income of the farmer has not doubled, on the contrary, a family of five people is earning only ₹ 26.67 per person per day from farming.
Farmers are drowning in debt
The Modi government, which has promised to increase farmers income, has drowned the farmer in debt. 50.2 percent of India's farmers are in debt, with an average loan of ₹74,121 per household.
Pushed way from farming, farmers are forced to work as labourers
This report has revealed a shocking fact that farming families living in rural areas of India are more compelled to do labour than farming. Farmers are earning 39.8 percent of their income every month from labour wages and 37.2 percent from crop production.
Animal husbandry is not a profitable deal
According to this report, a farmer-labourer family engaged in animal husbandry earns only ₹ 16.24 per day on an average from it.
The truth of minimum support price
The Modi government itself has disclosed in its report that except paddy and wheat, no crop is bought on more than 6 percent on MSP. Not only this, the truth of the Modi government, which claimed to get a good prices in the open market on crops, got exposed. It was revealed in this report that between January 2018 & December 2019, only 0 to 0.5 percent of the crops got more price in the open market than the support price. It was also told in this report that the market price was less than the MSP and 57.4 percent of the farmers got the price less than that market price (which was less than the MSP).
2. The truth of a minimal purchase on the support price came to the fore
BJP and Modi government are not buying food grains from farmers in sufficient quantity on support price. On December 14, 2021, the Modi government told the Lok Sabha that leaving aside paddy and wheat, than crops like gram, lentil, mung, tur, urad, groundnut, jowar, bajra, maize, etc., were being purchased at only 0.26% to 8.64%, of MSP.
3. Truth of 'Swaminathan' vs 'Modinathan':
The Modi government has till date not given MSP as per Swaminathan at (C2+50%) to the farmers as promised. They arbitrarily increased the cost and robbed the income of the farmers. And the Modi government gave an affidavit in the Supreme Court on February 9, 2015, that farmers cannot be given 50 percent return on cost, otherwise the traders will be ruined.
4. Rs.6,000 given in Kisan Samman Nidhi, and then increased the cost to loot Rs. 25,000 - Looted ₹ 17.50 lakh crore from farmers over seven years
The Modi government started the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme from December 1, 2018, under which Rs. 6,000 will be deposited in the account of every farmer in three instalments of Rs 2000 each. It was said to. Under this scheme, this money is being transferred to the account of 11.61 crore farmers. Whereas according to the Agriculture Census, there are 14.65 crore farmers in India. Which means that this amount is not being transferred to the account of about 3.04 crore farmers.
On one hand, the Modi government has given Rs 6,000 annually. per farmer, on the other hand Rs 25,000 annually. per hectare were snatched away from farmers: -
o Central excise duty on diesel increased from 3.56 per litre to 31.80 per litre in 2014. Recently, after losing the by-election, it was reduced by 10 per litre, but even today the excise duty on diesel is 21.80 per litre. That is, in comparison to 2014, the Modi government is charging an additional tax of 18.24 per litre on every litre of diesel. By levying excise on petrol and diesel alone, the Modi government has earned Rs 24 lakh crore in seven years. For the first time tax i.e. GST was imposed on agriculture sector. 12 percent tax on tractors and farming equipment. 18 percent tax on tractor tires and other parts. 5% tax on fertilizers. 18 percent tax on insecticides.
The prices of fertilizers were increased without concrete reason. The price of a 50 kg bag of DAP composite was increased overnight from 1200 to 1900. After all-out protest, the BJP withdrew the increased price, but DAP fertilizer was not made available and farmers were forced to buy it at 2200 per bag in the black market.
The BJP government itself stole 5 kg of urea fertilizer from a 50 kg bag. The cost of a 50 kg bag of potash has been increased from 450 in the year 2014 to 825. The cost of a 50 kg bag of super compost has also increased from 260 in 2014 to 340. The prices of seeds and electricity were also increased in a similar manner.
Evaluated broadly, the Modi government by increasing the annual costs of farming at Rs 25,000 per hectare for farmers, started earning Rs 2,50,000 crore per annum. which is, 17.50 lakh crores in 7 years. On the other hand, in the name of Prime Minister's Samman Nidhi from December 1, 2018 till date, only Rs. 1,61 lakh crore has been released and given to farmers. This translates to about Rs 15 lakh crore taken out of the farmer's pocket.
5. Support Price: Congress vs Modi government
The Congress government had increased the support price by up to 205 per cent between 2006-07 and 2013-14. During the same interval, the Modi government increased it only by 48 percent in paddy and by 43 percent in wheat. Further the Increase in gram was by 68 percent, in maize by 42 percent, in tur by 46 percent.
6. "Farmer Loot Scheme" of private insurance companies
Since this scheme has been implemented, Rs 21,450 crore has been collected from the farmers of the country in the name of premium. But the surprising thing is that private companies have earned a profit of Rs 30,320 crore from 2016 to 2020-21.
7. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund became a jumla
The Modi government had claimed that to double the income of farmers, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs. one lakh crore rupees was being given. But its truth is that so far only Rs 6098 crore has been sanctioned as loan, out of which Rs 2071 crore have been released.
8. Curse of Suicide to ‘Annadata’
During the tenure of the Modi government, between 2014 and 2020, 78,303 farmer-farm workers were forced to kiss the noose of suicide.
Only the loss of votes in the elections of five states will show the mirror of truth to the anti-farmer BJP and Modi government. In the defeat of BJP, there is victory of farmers and farm labourers.
Speaking on the Punjab Model on Agriculture, as announced by PCC President Navjot Singh Sidhu in the Press Conference today :-
1. Politics without an agenda/ roadmap is a mere pursuit of power.
2. Everybody talks of issues faced by farmers. Everybody tries to do politics on farmers issues, but no one has given a road map for resurrection. Congress party has stood by the farmers, throughout the struggle and beyond rajneeti
3. There are many things that state government can do, but sadly in last 25 years no significant policy has been introduced to promote diversification and to increase farmers income.
4. Asal Punjab Model is Grow what you eat
5. There is over dependence on Rice
6. Despite such high electricity subsidy, water table is reducing, Still farmer is not making ends meet. Farmer is not happy & suicides are happening.
7. In this mud-slinging politics and focus on freebies we forget the real issues. The debate should be about how do we see a “21st Century farmer”.
8. Punjab model will give incentives for Diversification.
9. Punjab Model: We need new “Farm Revolution 2.0” backed by good policies where farmer & small industry will come together
1. MSP on Dal, Oilseeds and Maize: Government will procure, Process & Market these through Cooperatives & Govt. Corporations.
India has huge stocks of wheat and rice — 2-3 times our buffer requirement — whereas the country is still importing pulses and oilseeds worth of more than Rs 1 Lac crore per annum
‘Yellow Revolution’: Oilseeds revolution (India imports nearly 55 to 60 per cent of its edible oil requirement, Rs 75000 crore net imports)
2. Govt will pay 50% Labour Salaries for all labour working in Farms up to 5 acres. Logic is to give subsidy in hands of farm labour, small farmer families, incentivise crop diversification and labour intensive cultivation.
3. Market intervention scheme (MIS): for crops sold below MSP in the State. Govt will pay the difference in selling price and MSP directly to the Farmers.
4. In case of crash in Market prices, Farmers can get 80% loan on storing their crops in State owned warehouses/ cold storages, There will be a warehouses/ cold storages in every 5 villages.
5. Marketing Cooperatives: “Cooperatives are the future”. Farm to Fork cooperatives. Main kehendasaareapne-apnekhetaanvich farming karan. Kisaan nu ikathekrnlayi cooperatives are important. Ekta vichtaqat !!Kisaan Stores will open stores in Malls and City Centre
6. Processing Industry:
While Punjab is leading producer of “food grain” (rice and wheat) in the world. “food-derivatives”. (examples: such as Rice Starch, Rice Bran, Rice Oil, Rice Protein, Rice Fats, Rice Flour, Rice used in cosmetics and many other usages). “food-derivatives” have 10-20 times more value than just food grain
Bt sadly, in INR 7.5 Lac crore (USD 100 Billion) global market of “food-derivatives”, Punjab is not even 0.1% share.
o Creation of food-processing clusters in every district of Punjab, basis the crop speciality of the area.
o Farmer owned processing plants & start-ups: tomato ketchup story; farmers nu trader, business kran vich help krnihai. Punjab govt will also support youth to open processing centres & do marketing. Farmer owned Start Ups shall be promoted & empowered.
o Government to incentivise & promote small scale processing plants in villages. 21st century Farmer processor & marketer v houga..
o Additional sources of income for farmers and modernising farming: dairy, bee keeping, fishery etc. Very important to have 2 sources, there is overdependence on 2 crop patern
7. Strict system in place to check Adulteration of Pesticides and seeds
8. Food export through Amritsar:
9. APMC reforms required: centre economist kehende APMC is a monopoly. APMC is not monopoly. APMC is democratic adhaira.
10. APMC & Market committee pardhaan should be elected.