Accusing the ruling TMC of “ignoring the interests of farmers” in West Bengal, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said that the opposition BJP will continue to push for various demands, which, if fulfilled, will ensure their welfare.
Speaking on the third and concluding day of a sit-in organised by Bharatiya Janata Kishan Morcha in Singur, where a massive anti-land acquisition movement had paved the way for TMC boss Mamata Banerjee’s rise to power in 2011, Adhikari claimed that the Bengal government was “apathetic to the plight of the farmers”, who have suffered immensely due to natural calamities.
The kisan morcha (BJP’s farmer wing) has been seeking a slash in the VAT charged by the state on fuel, adequate compensation for those who have incurred heavy crop losses during cyclones, free electricity for farming activities among other measures. The protesters also demanded that crops be collected at a minimum support price (MSP) from farmers.
“VAT has been reduced on fuel not only in BJP-helmed states such as Tripura, but also in several opposition-ruled states, benefiting farmers and common people. But the Mamata Banerjee government continues to maintain silence on the matter,” the Nandigram MLA claimed. He further said that his party members will hit the streets in protest, and may even organise a march to state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ over the matter.
Adhikari, later in the day, had lunch with farmers at the site of the sit-in at Gopalnagar in Singur. Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar had on Wednesday said that crops must be bought at MSP from every farmer and no one should have to resort to distress selling.
He also said ‘sabzi mandis’ (wholesale vegetable market) should be made operational in every block, with no intervention of any middleman.
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