New Delhi: The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), a branch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on Monday warned the Centre of impending crisis if the farmers’ demands are not addressed.
Thousands of farmers have gathered here to participate in the Kisan Garjana rally being convened to press for their demands which includes increasing the kisan samman nidhi yojana from Rs 6,000 to 8,000 owing to the inflation.
In view of the rally, the Delhi police has issued a traffic advisory on roads to avoid traffic from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
About 1 lakh farmers from 60,000 village committees of 560 districts have gathered at Ramlila Maidan to participate in the rally, the BKS said.
The farmers are reaching the venue at their own expense and are also bearing the food and other expenses. After the rally, a memorandum will be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Any representative of the government, the farmers’ body said, can approach the farmers. For the Kisan Garjana rally, a public awareness campaign was launched among the farmers across the country. For this, 20,000 padayatras, 13,000 cycle trips and 18,000 street meetings have been organised.
Responding to the rally, Union Minister Kailash Chaudhary said farmers have kept their demands which the government will consider on priority. “We have received information about the memorandum of our farmer brothers who have gathered. The Centre is sensitive to their demands. This is the Modi government which is made only for the farmers. That’s why it will continue to work in their interest. Had the earliest governments been pro-active, this situation would never have arisen.
As their debts are increasing due to rising inflation, the Centre should consider their demands in the interest of the farmers, the BKS said.
Along with the removal of GST on the goods used in agriculture, guarantee of cost-based remunerative price to the farmers, the amount received in the Kisan Samman Nidhi should be increased, it added.
–IANS