Extricate farmers from debt burden, scrap tariff agreement, SKM (NP) tells Centre
During the State-level Mahasabha organised at Perur here on Saturday in observance of Martyrs' Day by Narayanasamy Naidu Farmers' Association, speakers from across the country cautioned that India's acceptance of the tariff rates on agricultural products specified by the US will drive farmers to end their lives in large numbers. Import of agricultural products at a higher cost will be disastrous for the country's farmers, they feared, seeking outright rejection of the tariff conditions by the Centre.
Refusal to ensure Minimum Support Price has already suppressed the struggling farmers. Citing the instance of sugarcane, a farmer leader said though the cost of production is ₹4,300 per tonne, the governments were not prepared to accept the recommendation of the MS Swaminathan Committee and arrive at MSP. The debt burden of farmers due to inimical policies is driving the suicide rate, he said.
The Central Government, instead of mitigating the crisis faced by farmers had waived ₹24 lakh crore debt due from corporates, the speakers lamented. Likewise, the participants assailed the DMK government's law on acquisition of farmland for industrial purposes, saying the move would turn farmers into refugees in their own land.
Referring to the sacrifice of 13 farmers who had laid their lives to secure electricity for agriculture, president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers' Associations of Tamil Nadu and State Coordinator of the SKM (NP) P.R. Pandian expressed grave concern over the purported move by the State government to withdraw the free power at the insistence of the Union government.
National convenor of SKM (NP) Jagjit Singh Dallewal took part and spoke as special guest. Over 13 leading leaders from various States including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan took part in the Mahasabha. They warned that the difficulties faced by farmers were bound to reflect on the 2026 State Assembly election.
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