No doubt, the last year’s drought and subsequent farmer suicide cases have already set a platform for political parties, both ruling and opposition, to compete among themselves to reach the farmer clan and share concern with them, which had never been seen earlier.
The ruling BJD and opposition BJP and Congress have not only organised rallies but are still trying to their best to woo farmers. While the Government has formulated an Agriculture Cabinet apart from continuing placing Special Agriculture Budget, the BJP is hyping about the Narendra Modi Government’s various pro-farmer schemes and the Congress talking about the schemes introduced during the earlier UPA Government.
To keep up its move, the BJD had decided to hold a ‘Krushi O Krushak Karmashala’ (farm and farmers’ workshop) here on April 20. But on Monday, it postponed the workshop citing continued heat wave conditions as the reason.
“The proposed April 20 workshop has been put off for a temporary period for the heat wave on the advice of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The BJD farmers’ wing will decide on a further date and inform people,” said BJD Krushak Sammukhy convenor Sushant Singh in a statement.
On the other hand, the BJP decided to hold a special programme for the farmers here on April 20 to highlight the conditions of farmers as reported in the media in recent months. Contents of the Government’s reply vis-à-vis farmers’ conditions in the State Assembly would also be displayed.
“We are now organising a Gram Udayaru Bharat Udaya campaign to inform people about the Modi Government’s various schemes on irrigation, farm loan, crop insurance, market link and establishment of cold storages. We will organise a special exhibition on farmers’ conditions in the State at Bhubaneswar on April 20,” said party State vice-president Sameer Mohanty in a statement.
He said common people would be requested to share their views with signatures at the exhibition.