Farmers want MSP, freedom from indebtedness

Ongole: The farmers, farm workers and farmers associations from Prakasam district unit of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) staged a demonstration in front of Prakasam district Collectorate on Thursday and demanded that the political parties in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha approve the Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill 2018 and The Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Price for Agricultural Commodities Bill, 2018.

Chunduri Rangarao, coordinator of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee in Prakasam district explained that about 193 farmers and farm workers’ working groups from various states in India prepared the drafts of the Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill 2018 and The Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Price for Agricultural Commodities Bill 2018, after a number of consultations with the stakeholders and experts in society and government. 

He said that they conducted a roundtable with senior leaders from 21 political parties in Parliament at Constitution Club in New Delhi on March 28, 2018 and held discussion on the draft bills. The leaders accepted the importance and immediate need of the bills and agreed to cooperate in passing them in the both Houses, he informed.

Rangarao also said that the leaders passed two important resolutions in the roundtable, viz., the pathetic situation of farmers committing suicide due to the burden of debts should not continue anymore, and the government should offer minimum support price by including at least 50 percent extra of the production expenses.

The representatives from various organizations including Chunchu Seshaiah from Virginia Tobacco Farmers Association, Mareddi Subrahmanyeswara Reddy from YSR Raitu Vibhagam, Vadde Hanumareddy from Andhra Pradesh Raitu Sangham, Vallamreddy Rajagopala Reddy, Kisan Congress, Pentyala Hanumantha Rao from Tenant Farmers Association, Chavali Sudhakar from Organisation for Protection of Democratic Rights, Kongara Narasimham from All India Farm Workers Association, Kommuri Kanakarao Madiga from Prakasam District Development Forum and others also participated in the demonstration. 

After the meeting, a few of the representatives met Joint Collector S Nagalakshmi and requested her to pass the representation submitted her to the Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha to see the Bills were given importance and introduced and passed in the House for the benefit of farmer community across the country.