Citing a report that claimed sugarcane arrears to farmers in Uttar Pradesh had crossed Rs 10,000 crore, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath government, saying ‘chowkidars’ were only working for the rich and not bothered about the poor.
“The families of sugarcane farmers toil day and night but the Uttar Pradesh government does not even take the responsibility of paying their dues,” Priyanka, who is the in-charge for eastern Uttar Pradesh, tweeted.
The Indian Express on Sunday reported that of the Rs 10,000 crore payment due to farmers, over 45 per cent of this is from six of the eight constituencies scheduled to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 11.
“Rs 10,000 crore of farmers’ dues means everything, including their children’s education, food, health, and the next produce comes to a standstill. These chowkidars only work for the rich and do not care about the poor,” Priyanka said.
According to data compiled by the Cane Commissioner’s Office in Lucknow, as on March 22, the state’s sugar mills have bought cane worth Rs 24,888.65 crore during the current 2018-19 crushing season (October-September).
They were to pay Rs 22,175.21 crore within the stipulated 14-day period of taking cane delivery. But the actual payments have been only Rs 12,339.04 crore, translating into arrears of Rs 9,836.17 crore. Adding the dues of Rs 238.81 crore from the previous 2017-18 season takes the total to Rs 10,074.98 crore.
In a retort to Priyanka’s remarks, Adityanath asked the Congress where were the well-wishers of farmers during 2012-17 when they faced starvation.
“When our government was formed, the pending cane dues were around Rs 57,800 crore. The amount was bigger than the budgets of many states. But we paid it. In the previous regimes of the SP and BSP, nothing was done for the sugarcane farmers, (and) as a result, they died of starvation,” PTI quoted Adityanath as saying.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said sugarcane cultivation area in the state had increased by 22 per cent to 28 lakh hectare and a several closed sugar mills were restarted.
“Where were the so-called well-wishers of the farmers from 2012 to 2017, when the farmers were on the brink of starvation. Why have they woken up from their slumber now?” Adityanath said.
The Indian Express
