After Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Kumar Reddy and Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would be the fourth Chief Minister embarking on a dharna in the span of two months.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for Madhya Pradesh bandh on Thursday to press for its demand from the Centre to declare the recently held unseasoned rains and hailstorm as national calamity besides a package of Rs 5,000 crore for the affected farmers. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Cabinet colleagues would remain on fast on the bandh day. BJP State president and MP Narendra Singh Tomar addressing the media persons here on Wednesday said, "The continuous unseasoned rains and hailstorm this year have troubled the farming community of the State. Over 10,000 villages have been ruined. In this hour of crisis the Shivraj Singh Chouhan led BJP Government of the State taking cognisance of the happenings sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore in vote of account despite having limited resources for compensation."
Tomar further said that the Chouhan Government has immediately made war footing arrangements for survey of the loss and distribution of compensation and relief to the suffering farmers. He said that in the hour of natural disaster it is the responsibility of both the State and Central Government on humanitarian grounds and Constitutional basis to come forward for helping the farmers. But the step-motherly treatment of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has furthered the sufferings of the farming community.
He said that the UPA Government has deliberately unseen the plight of farmers of the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. Providing details of the impartial attitude of the Centre with the State the BJP State president said that on the previous occasion State faced drought then also the Centre overlooked the interest of the State and has meted out step-motherly treatment. The Chief Minister and the parliamentarians continuously remained in touch with the Centre for assistance but the result was zero, he added.
The senior BJP leader said that observing negative attitude of the Central Government and ignorance of Madhya Pradesh by it the party decided to launch agitation and gave call for the State bandh on March 6. The Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues would remain on fast. Farmers would stage sit-in and dharna in villages and protests would be made at the choupals of villages.