People's Democracy

  Ajit Singh Resignation: A Timely Warning

IN a joint statement issued on May 26, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) said they are disturbed at the way the resignation of the minister for agriculture is being treated as part of a “cabinet reshuffle.”

The two organisations said the former minister is on record that he resigned from office because of the central government’s anti-peasant policies. Ever since the Vajpayee government began its pro-US agrarian demarche by starting to open up our agrarian market in 1999-2000 with a bilateral agreement, millions of farmers and peasants have been ruined and thousands were forced to commit suicide.

The causes of this distress have been the uncertain and declining prices of agrarian products like sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, tea and coconut, partly because of the liberalised imports and partly because of the fly-by-night seed operators who are selling spurious products as the government is no longer is the main source of seed distribution. To add to it, the reduction of government expenditure on agriculture has led to a rise in the prices of electricity and fertilisers as well as a decline in the maintenance of irrigation projects and a complete failure of the centre’s procurement policy, leaving the peasants and farmers at the mercy of wholesalers. Agricultural labourers, who constitute a big chunk of the rural population, find no work because of the open import of agricultural machinery. They are also unable to buy rations at the prohibitory prices at which the grains are being sold today. There is widespread ruin and starvation in rural areas.

The AIKS and AIAWU have also charged that the BJP-led government at the centre has refused even to meet the serious challenge posed by the almost countrywide drought that affects vast areas even now. The estimated requirement of Rs 35,000 crore was met with an allocation of only Rs 2,000 crore, reflecting the BJP’s callous neglect of peasants and agricultural labourers.

To these two organisations, the resignation of the minister for agriculture and his complaints about the neglect of the farm sector must be seen in the light of the fact that 91 per cent of India’s peasants own less than four hectares of land and 59 per cent of them own less than one hectare. That is why they cannot survive without government support. Thus the government’s retreat from this crucial sector is even more dangerous today. For the bulk of our armed forces come from the peasantry and cannot be expected to ignore the plight of their families while defending the borders.

The two organisations have therefore demanded that the BJP-led government at the centre must open its eyes to how dangerous its pro-US policies are to the survival of our people and the security of our country. It must immediately reverse this policy, double the allocations for drought relief in May, June and July as directed by the Supreme Court, reopen the Barauni fertiliser factory, change the auction procedure for tea, raise duties sufficiently to protect our agricultural products, provide cheap electricity and sufficient irrigation facilities for the peasantry, and increase the procurement rates especially for sugarcane while punishing the recalcitrant mill owners who owe the cane growers crores of rupees despite availing government loans for the purpose. As regards agricultural labourers, a comprehensive central legislation is absolutely necessary, as is a 122-day employment guarantee and a properly functioning public distribution system (PDS) with the present prices reduced by half.

The AIKS and AIAWU have warned that the BJP-led government must change its policies or it would face the anger of the peasantry. the resignation of the minister of agriculture is a foretaste of this. It is a timely warning that the central government can ignore only at its peril. (INN)