By IANS
New Delhi : The United National Progressive Alliance, a group of regional parties, has gone ahead with its plan for making agriculture its main poll plank, not just asking for implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan report on farmers, but also demanding a Bharat Ratna for its author.
At a press conference in Delhi, UNPA convener and Telugu Desam party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu said that they wanted the waiver of loans to farmers, increase in minimum support price, no interest in loans to drought-hit farmers and crop insurance.
The interaction with reporters came at the end of a daylong ‘national seminar’ on farmer issues organised by the UNPA. Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, Indian National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chautala and Asom Gana Parishad president Brindaban Goswami attended.
Naidu, former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, accused the United Progressive Alliance government of ignoring the plight of farmers, with suicides by farmers still being reported despite government promises of relief. “Only two percent of GDP is spent on agriculture, which is a sharp comedown from when it was about 15 percent. Where have all the revenues from agriculture gone?” he asked.
Naidu also demanded the country’s highest award to be given to eminent agriculturist M.S. Swaminathan, who is also known as father of the Green Revolution. Swaminathan, who currently holds the chair of the National Commission for Farmers, had attended the UNPA seminar.
“The Swaminathan Committee report was submitted 15 months ago, why has it not been implemented completely?” asked Naidu.