April 23, 2015
Centre must follow Bengal model to help farmers in distress: Trinamool
Trinamool today highlighted the plight of farmers in Parliament and demanded that the Central Government must come up with a concrete proposal to address the grievous issue.
Speaking during a discussion in Rajya Sabha, Chief Whip of the party Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, “On one hand we are talking of unprecedented growth and on the other hand farmers are committing suicide. This govt is extending waivers worth thousands of crores to corporates. Why should such waiver not be extended to farmers?”
SS Roy also highlighted the steps taken by West Bengal government for addressing the plight of farmers. He said, “Government of West Bengal took initiatives to solve the plight of potato farmers. WB CM announced 50000 metric tonnes will be directly procured from farmers. The government is distributing these potatoes to schools under mid-day meal schemes and ICDS at Re 1/kg.”
SS Roy added that the West Bengal Government also introduced the transport subsidy scheme. He wondered if the Bengal government could procure potatoes directly from farmers against a/c payee cheques, why couldn’t Centre do it.
Click here to read the full transcript of his speech
Discussion in Lok Sabha
Demanding a judicial probe into the death of the farmer, Professor Saugata Roy said the incidents “is the tragedy of the highest order that I can think about.” He was speaking during a discussion in Lok Sabha.
He added that farmer deaths are recurring phenomena in India, with about 12000 farmer suicides over the last few years. This was the first time someone committed suicide in front of TV cameras.
Saugata Roy also criticised the media for not doing anything as the tragedy unfolded before them. He also demanded that the government give compensation to farmers who suffered loss of crops.
“Shall we be bound by bureaucratic rules and practices while people die, commit suicide? I would like a categorical statement from the Government today as to when they are going to give full compensation to the farmers in the States who have been hit by this crop loss, “he said.
Click here for the full transcript of his speech
