Protesting farmers in Ramlila Maidan say their faith in Modi stands shaken

**New Delhi: “**We had voted for Narendra Modi with a lot of hope. Our faith in him stands shaken now. So here we are, doing the best we can do under the circumstances: supporting the Congress’ agitation against the BJP government’s Land Bill. We hope something good comes of it.” This was the refrain of several farmers who had come to attend Rahul Gandhi’s rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.

On their way back from the rally and headed towards their respective states on Monday morning, they said they didn’t have much expectation from the Congress given its poor strength in Parliament but their participation would send the message across to the government.

Ram Kishan from Rajasthan seemed visibly anguished by the incumbent government. “I had supported Modi in the last election because of the kind of speech he delivered and the promises he made. But in last one year, nothing has happened on the ground for us. Our condition has not changed at all. We continue to live in extreme deprivation and the added rainfall has made things worse. Neither the state government nor the Centre has come to our relief. I have come here to attend the Congress rally with some hope,” he told Firstpost.

Ram Kumar, another farmer from Uttar Pradesh, accused Narendra Modi of not living up to his promises. “We supported the last government because we believed in many promises that Modiji made in his pre-poll rallies. Now, I am quite convinced that the last government still had some heart when it came to the welfare of the poor and farmers like me.”

Dhirendra Singh from Greater Noida’s Bhatta Parsaul looked visibly angry. “The average production expenditure per hectare is not less than Rs 45,000 but the minimum support price (MSP) is only Rs 13,500. Also, the government is making a mockery of poor farmers hit by unseasonal rains in the name compensation. We are getting bank cheques of Rs 19, Rs 25 and Rs 129. And that too when the amount of compensation has been increased by 50 percent,” he said.

He added, “The manufacturers are free to fix the prices of their products themselves, but the farmers cannot do so. The prices of crops are fixed by the government. It is sheer injustice.” Giving an instance of potato he said, “The stockists are not ready to purchase potato from us even at Re 1, but it is being sold in the market for Rs 10 - Rs 20,” he added.

Singh and many others consider the SDRF (State Disaster Relief Fund) of the Union Home Ministry “another cruel political gimmick to deceive gullible farmers”.

Chief secretaries have been asked through a circular issued by the disaster management division of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 8 April to compensate rain-hit farmers with Rs 2,750 per acre and Rs 5,465 per acre in assured irrigation areas. The amounts have to be given from the SDRF but will be reimbursed from the national fund.

“There are some conditions which make a significant number of farmers ineligible for compensation,” Singh said.

However, Rayees Khan from Mewat comes out with a more honest account. “We have lived under the Congress government and we are living under Modi’s government. Our condition more or less remains the same. However, it was the previous Congress government which brought the Land Acquisition Bill that helped farmers to a great extent and therefore, we are here. If need arises, we will come and protest against any party until the genuine concerns of Indian farmers are not addressed,” he said.