April 14, 2024
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Paddy Farmers’ Arrears Withheld by BJP Govt to Foment Political Trouble in Kerala

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Below we publish the statement issued by the All India Kisan Sabha on March 28, 2024

IT has now come to light that the BJP government led by Narendra Modi has deliberately withheld over Rs 852.29 crores of paddy procurement dues to Kerala dating back to the five years preceding 2020-21. Another Rs 756.25 crore is also outstanding for paddy procured bringing the total to a whopping Rs 1,608.54 crores. In the meantime the BJP in Kerala citing non-payment of paddy dues organised violent protests with the opposition also upping the ante against the LDF led state government. The chronology and modus operandi should be looked into to understand the sinister conspiracy; the extent to which the ruling BJP and the UDF can go to reap political gains, even if that leads to distress and death for the farmers. The union finance minister all the while resorted to misinformation campaign against the state. 

The chronology and modus operandi followed was that the BJP government will deliberately withhold payments rightfully due to the state, starve the state of funds, the BJP state unit would whip up emotions, go to the extent of even abetting suicides by their cadres, have violent protests shedding crocodile tears, the corporate media would have endless debates to paint the state government in bad light, drill in a lie that the union government had cleared all its dues and it was the fiscal mismanagement of the LDF led state government that had created the crisis, the opposition UDF parrots the BJP lies, both launch a massive misinformation campaign to paint their blatant lies as the truth, wait like vultures for death of farmers, drum-up opposition to the state government, wait hoping to reap political benefits in the elections. The release of the Rs 852.29 crores to Kerala as paddy procurement dues dating back to five years including Rs 116 crore to clear minimum support price dues for 2019-20 and 2020-21 has nailed their lie. It has also to be seen in the light of the fact that yet another Rs 756.25 crore is also outstanding for paddy already procured.

It is notable that the LDF government in Kerala has carried on a political and legal battle against the curtailment of its federal rights, against strangling the state by denying the finances due to it, reducing its borrowing limit etc. The state went to the Supreme Court which intervened positively and forced the BJP government to allow additional borrowing of Rs 13,608 crores while the state has sought at least an interim borrowing of Rs 26,226 crores. AIKS congratulates the LDF government for doggedly pursuing the matter to ensure that the state gets its legitimate due and for upholding the federal rights of Kerala. AIKS calls upon all its units to expose the betrayal of the BJP government as well as the UDF and the people of Kerala to give a fitting rebuff to these forces in the forthcoming elections.

 

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