The Hindu : New Delhi News : Farmer leaders announce stir

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Farmer leaders announce stir

Special Correspondent

BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait

NEW DELHI: Chairing a meeting of the Bhartiya Kisan Union leaders here on Monday, farm leader Mahendra Singh Tikait announced a country-wide agitation to highlight the agrarian crisis.

The farmer leaders are demanding a complete waiver of farm loans and higher remunerative prices, linked to the wholesale price index, for their produce. They want India out of the World Trade Organisation negotiations, a reversal of the Special Economic Zone Policy and the implementation of the newly announced Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy with retrospective effect. They don’t want acquisition of fertile farm land for Special Economic Zones.

The farm leaders submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding that India pull out of the World Trade Organisation since the interests of farmers were not being safeguarded and the government seemed keen to go ahead despite the terms being loaded against Indian farmers.“Till date, the government has been unable to force the United States and the European Union to scale down their farm subsidies. It has also failed to make these trading blocs reduce their import tariffs and stop dumping subsidised agriculture commodities into India markets. Instead of a bad deal that fails to protect the interests of the farmers, it would be better to keep agriculture out of WTO negotiations,” they said in the memorandum.

Leaders decided to launch stir in Punjab, Haryana, U.P., Maharashtra, Rajasthan and M.P. to highlight problems of the farm community.

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