Groundxero | 23 Jan 2024

Narendra Modi has promised freedom from indebtedness and doubling of income to the farmers during the 2014 Lok Sabha election. But the reality is that thousands of distressed farmers in the country are committing suicide every year. One lakh four hundred and seventy four farmers have committed suicide during the Narendra Modi years (2014-2022) as per the report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Despite this grim scenario, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare titled “Accounts at a Glance for the Year 2022-23” has revealed that the Narendra Modi Government has surrendered Rs 105543.71 crore during the last five years since 2018-19 which was allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – the joint platform of the farmers’ union – in a press statement flayed the utter insensitivity of the BJP-RSS led government to the distressed farmers and said that the real intention behind this non-utilisation of budgetary allocation is to hand over agriculture to the corporates. It claimed that if the Modi Government had used the surrendered money for the farmers, many of the farmers’ lives could have been saved.

Press Statement

Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)

23rd January, 2024, New Delhi

Surrender of Funds to the tune of Rs 105543.71 crore Allocated to Agriculture

 SKM Flays Modi Govt’s Intention of Hand Over Agriculture to Corporates

1,00,474 farmers have committed suicide in 2014-2022 as per NCRB Report

The Report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare titled “Accounts at a Glance for the Year 2022-23” has revealed that the Narendra Modi Government has surrendered Rs 105543.71 crore during the last five years since 2018-19 which was allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture.

As per the said report, in 2018-19 the total allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture was Rs.54,000 crore. In that year Rs.21,043.75 crore was surrendered. In the subsequent years, of 2019-20 Rs 34,517.7 crore, in 2020-21 Rs 23,824.53 crore, in 2021-22 Rs 5,152.6 crore and in 2022-23 Rs 21,005.13 crore. This comes to a whopping total that is even more than the total allocation for agriculture in some of the years from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing has also pointed out that the impact of such surrender of funds would adversely impact the North Eastern States, Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Scheduled Tribe Sub Plan.

BJP has promised freedom from indebtedness to the farmers in 2014 Lok Sabha election. The Modi Government has written off Rs.14.56 lakh crores of arrears of the large corporate houses in the last ten years period. But not a single rupee of the farmers’ loan was waived. 1,00,474 farmers have committed suicide in the Narendra Modi years (2014-2022) as per the report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). If the Modi Government has used the surrendered money for the farmers, many of the lives could have been saved.

The farmers have also been demanding increased allocation for price support to ensure remunerative prices, agriculture infrastructure development, expansion of irrigation and for research and extension.

SKM strongly condemns such a criminal act of betrayal of the interests of farmers of India. SKM flays the utter insensitivity of the BJP-RSS led government to the distressed farmers and the real intention behind this is to hand over agriculture to the corporates. SKM strongly protested the anti-farmer policies of the Union Government and appealed to the people to support the struggle to end corporate loot, save agriculture and save India.  SKM calls on the farmers to punish BJP in order to protect the interest of farmers and the people at large.

Media Cell | Samyukta Kisan Morcha

Contact: samyuktkisanmorcha@gmail.com

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