Farmers’ strike just a trailer, full movie will release during Odisha Assembly elections: Niranjan 

Bhubaneswar: Coming down heavily on Odisha’s ruling BJD, Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik alleged that Naveen Patnaik’s government has completely failed to provide minimum basic facilities to lakhs of small and marginal farmers in state.

State government is not at all compassionate for the cause of agriculture and farmers of the state, alleged the senior Congress leader. The anger of the farmers we saw today is just a trailer and the full movie will release with the ouster of BJD in 2019 elections.

BJD government is propagating that it is taking care of the farmers under recently launched scheme KALIA. If this is right then state government must clarify that after launching of KALIA, why farmers are agitating? How and why thousands of farmers across the state are supporting the agitation and bandh called by the Nava Nirman Krushak Sangathan, the PCC President asked.

Niranjan said, during last 19 years BJD and BJP ruled jointly in Odisha for 9 years. After that since around last 5 years BJD government of the state is extending blind support to BJP government led by Mr Narendra Modi at the centre. These two political parties have not taken a single step for development of agriculture and betterment of farmers. There is no irrigation facility to the farm land; farmers are not getting seeds and fertilizer in proper time. The farmers are not getting MSP for their crops. Government has failed to create cold storage and agri processing facilities. Farmers are waiting at the mandies to sell their paddy.  Congress had demanded to procure the entire paddy from the farmers. There are reports of distress sale by farmers everyday but the State govt does nothing to help our annadatas. Many farmers of the state have not received the compensation for natural calamities like Phyline and Hudhud. Even in some drought affected areas, farmers have not got compensation, says Niranjan.

The next Congress govt. in Odisha will leave no stone unturned to help the distressed. As promised in our Guarantee Card launched by AICC President Shri Rahul Gandhi we will waive off all farm loans, give an MSP of Rs 2600 for paddy and bonus on MSP for pulses give solar pumps to farmers for irrigation and provide financial assistance to farmers for 5 years.

The Congress party will work hard to bring back smiles on the faces of our annadatas, Niranjan said.