With the sugarcane crushing period approaching, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) top leaders have decided to highlight the plight of cane growers by holding protests and dharnas.
“By launching protests across Uttar Pradesh, the RLD leaders hope to get political mileage in the by-election,” a leader said. They said October was the crushing period for sugarcane growers and they were facing a lot of hardships due to the “faulty policy” of the BJP government.
“At the time of Lok Sabha elections, the BJP leaders had promised to resolve issues related to farmers in a bid to get their votes. After the elections, they put the issue on the back burner. We will fight for the farmers,” the RLD leaders said.
Under the strategy, the leaders may be asked to hold meetings, ‘nukkad sabhas’ and ‘chaupals’ in different districts of the state to highlight the “misgovernance” and to galvanise the farmers.
“The sugarcane growers are yet to get their arrears, estimated to be about Rs 800 crore, for the last crushing period. The BJP government failed to chalk out a plan to address the problems of sugarcane growers. In the last fiscal, the government’s decision was aimed more at benefitting the mill owners than the sugarcane growers,” RLD’s media incharge Javed Ahmad said.
He said the party had staged massive protest last year to highlight the plight of farmers in west UP. “This time too, we are going to form a strategy to fight for the farmers,” he said.
Ahmad said RLD vice-president Jayant Chaudhary would convene a meeting at the party’s headquarters in Lucknow on August 31. “The office-bearers of RLD from across UP will take part in the meeting. The issues related to farmers, sugarcane growers, unemployment and development will be discussed in the meeting,” he added.