With barely a few months to go to 2019 general elections, the farming community and its issues is set to take centre stage in agrarian state of Haryana.
The farmers, who form a large voter base in Haryana are all set to hold state-level rallies to raise their demands while the BJP led Haryana Government has proposed to roll out a pension scheme for farmers in a bid to assuage the angry farming community ahead of the Lok Sabha polls 2019.
According to the 2011 census data, the total rural population in Haryana is 1.65 crore, which is 65.21 per cent of its total population and are engaged primarily in farming and other related activities.
Apparently, the farmers will hold the key for the major political parties in elections to 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.
The Manohar Lal Khattar Government in Haryana have had faced several protests from the farming community in the past four years. With the 2019 polls nearing, the farming community is now again up in arms against the ruling BJP.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU, Chaduni) has announced to hold a state-level rally in Kurukshetra on February 3 to pressurize the government on the issue of loan waiver. Similarly, a Kisan maha panchayat is proposed to be held on February 6 in Barwala of Hisar on the issue of loan waiver.
Farm debt waiver had remained a crucial issue in the recently concluded elections to five state assemblies in the country Ahead of Lok Sabha also, the political parties have been making a series of promises from farm debt waiver for farmers to providing subsidy or special incentives to woo the farmers’ voters.
“A state level rally will be organized in Kurukshetra on February 3 to raise the demand of farm loan waiver. Other demands including minimum income guarantee scheme, implementation of Swaminathan Commission report, pension scheme will also be raised during the rally, said BKU Haryana president Gurnam Singh Chanduni while talking to The Pioneer.
Gurnam Singh said that several states have announced farm loan waiver but the Haryana Government has failed to take up this issue so far.
He said that the BKU has written to all the political parties on farmers’ issues. In 2019 general polls, the BKU will support the political party which will accept all our demands, said Gurnam Singh, who had recently announced to field BKU candidates for the polls.
Rattan Mann, president of BKU (Mann faction), Haryana said that a Kisan maha panchayat of farmers will be held in Barwala on the issue of loan waiver and thousands of farmers will attend the programme.
Besides, complete loan waiver, other issues related to farmers will also raised at the maha panachayt. Our demands include implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, loan waiver for farmers, retirement allowance of Rs 5 lakh to all farmers after attaining the age of 60, medical insurance for farmers, he said.
Aware of the growing anger among farming community in the state, Haryana Government is formulating a pension scheme for farmers, apparently in a move to woo the community ahead of elections.
The government’s constituted committee under Haryana state BJP chief and MLA from Tohana, for finalizing the pension scheme will meet on Wednesday here.
Barala said that the previous meeting of the committee was held on December 27. The committee would soon submit its report to the Chief Minister Manohar Lal.
He said that after implementation of Kisan Pension Yojana, the financial condition of farmers would be strong.
The other members of the committee are MLAs namely Abhay Singh Yadav, Mahipal Dhanda, Ghanshyam Das Arora, Pawan Saini and Director General, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Ajit Balaji Joshi.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ unions have expressed displeasure over not including any member from the BKU in the government’s constituted committee.
The farmers’ union leader Rattan Mann said that atleast two representatives from the BKU should have been included in the committee as the government is formulating a pension scheme for the benefit of farmers.
Earlier in a series of decisions to woo the farmer, the Haryana Government had set up ‘Haryana Kisan Kalyan Pradhikaran’ and announced to issue demand notices for about 44,000 pending tube-well connections since January 1, 2014 by March 31, 2019.