By IANS
Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) : Demanding remunerative prices for agricultural produce, the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) Saturday held a massive show of strength of farmers here.
The daylong conclave and rally – called ‘Rythu Grajna’ (roar of farmers) – was attended by thousands of farmers from different parts of Andhra Pradesh, where the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for paddy has snowballed into a major problem for the Congress government.
The UNPA, also known as the third front, charged the UPA government with complete neglect of the agriculture sector and blamed its “anti-farmer” policies for suicides by more than 100,000 farmers in last three and a half years.
A resolution passed at the conclave demanded the remunerative prices for agriculture produce specially the food grains in accordance with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report, one-time waiver of farmers debts and extension of crop loans at an interest rate of three percent to the big farmers and interest-free loans to the small and marginal farmers to help the distressed farmers and put an end to their suicides.
The UNPA convenor and Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu led the rally along with the Samajwadi party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Om Prakash Chautala of National Lok Dal, Babu Lal Maradni of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and Brindavan Goswami of Asom Gana Parishad.
Earlier, briefing newsmen after a four-hour long meeting, UNPA convenor Chandrababu Naidu said Swaminathan committee had submitted its report to the centre 16 months ago but none of its recommendations were implemented so far.
Warning that the wrong policies of the UPA government was leading to serious shortages of the food grains in the country, Naidu said that the country had already imported 7 million tonnes of food grains and 1.5 million tonnes of pulses last year.
“We demand that the Swaminathan committee report be accepted in toto,” he said. The UNPA demanded an MSP of Rs.1,000 a quintal for paddy on par with wheat.