By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: The prevailing unrest and anger over apathy of UPA Govt. towards farm suicides of cotton growing farmers of Vidarbha region of western Indian state of Maharashtra has been reflected very badly against all UPA allies as they lost all seats in west Vidarbha (Washim-Yavatmal, Akola, Buldhana, Amaravati) in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections.
While all seats in east Vidarbha (Nagpur, Wardha, Ramtek, Bhandara, Gondia) region barring Chandrapur parliamentary seat, as it has two assembly segments of Yavatmal, has gone to UPA.
The Nagpur-based Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) president Kishore Tiwari while reacting over the election results in a statement said:”this shows that relief packages are not giving any relief to the dying Vidarbha cotton farmers and they are still very unhappy with the present policies of the UPA and Maharashtra governments. Hence, VJAS has urged the UPA chief Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to look into the hardships of west Vidarbha cotton farmers in order to save the Maharashtra state Govt.”, he said.
“The results have made the Maharashtra Govt. claim that west Vidarbha cotton farmers are happy very ridiculous as their performance has not been improved in suicide belt of Vidarbha. Moreover, it has shown its effect in adjoining Hingoli, Parbhani, Jalgaon, Dhule and Beed parliamentary seats where most of the farmers are cotton growers”, Tiwari added.
In last five years more than 5340 cotton growing farmers have committed suicide due to debt and crop failures and now it’s clear that the relief announced for providing economic protection to them from international recession and restoring rural socio-economic system with proper food security, employment and health care was an exercise in futility. It’s time for UPA to address the core issues of poverty and hunger of west Vidarbha of cotton growing farmers, Tiwari demanded. ([email protected])