Mumbai: Asserting that farmers were forced to go on strike due to lack of decisiveness on the part of the BJP-led government and its anti-farmer policies, the Congress in Maharashtra today said it supports the agitation.
“Farmers have been forced to go on strike because people sitting in the Central and state governments are not concerned with their issues. After BJP came to power, more than 9,500 farmers have committed suicide in the state,” Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan said here.
Farmers had a bumper tur daal production this year but the government had a lackadaisical approach to its procurement, he said.
“Farmers are not getting right price for soybean, tur, onion, fruits and milk,” Chavan said, adding that loan waiver is the only solution to their woes.
“Those sitting in the government do not understand the problems of farmers. Therefore the farmers went on strike for the first time in this country,” he said.
With supply of vegetables and milk stopped, people in cities will have to face a severe crisis in coming days, the Congress leader warned.
“Farmers are beaten up in Mantralaya…they are trying to commit suicide at the gates of the secretariat. On top of it, a BJP spokesperson blatantly says Government will be unaffected if farmers go on strike,” he said.
“All these things prove that the government is insensitive towards the issues of farmers,” Chavan said.
—PTI