Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 3: Colonel SS Pathania, President Sainik Samaj Party, JKUT urged the Union Government to remove the anomalies in all three bills, in consultation with farmers, at the earliest in nation’s interest. About 70 percent of the total population is indulging in agriculture and contributing about 18 percent towards the GDP of nation. Successive governments in the center, never genuinely did anything worthwhile for the farmers and always exploited them, and treated them as a vote bank. SinceL950,govt employees and teachers income has gone up 180 and 200 times respectively, where as farmers income has gone up merely 21 times. Statistics shows, those cases of suicides by the farmers, are constantly moving up, every one hour, at least one farmer is made to commit suicide. Had genuine reforms were carried in last 73 years of independence, the situation certainly would not have been so gloomy. Swami Nathan commission report of year 2006 and Shanta Ram committee report had given some very constructive report on the agricultural reforms and food security act, but sadly nothing worthwhile could be implemented, and farmers suffering never ended. What is baffling, that why an ordinance was brought in June 2O2O, and passed subsequently in parliament, when the nation was fighting Covid L9, without consulting the farmers. Three bills passed, are mainly talks about removal of certain items from the Iist of essential commodities and permit their storage including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, oil, potatoes and onions etc, second bill is related with contract farming, and last bill pertains to management of APMCs, and freedom of trade including inter and intra states. |
