Congress leader and former Union Minister Srikant Jena on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to fulfil all the demands of farmers without delay otherwise farmers of the State would throw his Government out.
When the State Government could waive Rs 50,000 crore to mining companies, where is the problem in writing off Rs 15,000-crore crop loan of farmers, he asked.
He said the State Government has not kept its promise to provide irrigation to at least 35 per cent of cultivable land in each block.
Jena dubbed the constitution of an inter-Ministerial committee to look into farmer issues as just a farce and the time now has come for the State Cabinet to waive the farm loan.
He said the BJD Government had adopted a resolution in the State Assembly to increase the paddy Minimum Support Price (MSP) to Rs 2,900 per quintal, but as on date nothing has happened.
Neither did State Government increase the MSP nor was a special bonus announced by the Centre to check distress sale of paddy in the State, Jena pointed out.
The neighbouring Chhattisgarh has increased the paddy MSP, as a result of which farmers of Odisha’s border districts would sell their paddy in Chhattisgarh.
Unable to repay agricultural loans, farmers in distress have been committing suicide, he said.
Stating that there are 40 lakh unemployed youths in search of jobs in the State, Jena demanded that the State Government provide them Rs 3,000 as an unemployment allowances, failing which his party would come to the streets against the BJD.