The farmers must launch a united and determined fight against the government’s farm policies and lack of support at every step, and the recent victory of the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh farmers in New Delhi should serve as an inspiration, said All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) national joint secretary Vijju Krishnan on Saturday.
He was addressing the participants of the Rythu Coolie Rakshana Padayatra at a ‘maha dharna’ staged outside the District Collector’s office here on the concluding day of the 28-day journey through 300 villages and 63 mandals by two teams in the district.
He said the BJP had promised before the 2014 elections that it would ensure a price more than 50% of the cultivation cost for all the agricultural produce. But it forgot it after elections.
“The Union Agriculture Minister has gone on record saying that it is only an electoral promise made to garner votes. The farmers, with a steely resolve, showed the government its place and forced it to withdraw the three draconian farm laws,” he said.
The padayatra and the ‘maha dharna’ should ignite the spark of revolution in Andhra Pradesh. Farmers of the State should join hands against the State government, which had stopped all kind of help by giving just ₹6,000 a year in the name of Rythu Bharosa.
A.P. Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham State president D. Subba Rao, Rythu Sangham district leaders V. Rambhupal, Imtiaz, Chandrasekhar and Nagaraju narrated their experiences during the padayatra.
A rally was taken out from Ballari Bypass Road to the District Collector’s office by about 500 participants.
