MP News: 'Farmers Crying Tears Of Blood,’ Jitu Patwari Slams Govt As Farmers Protest Delay In Wheat Procurement, Lower MSP In Sironj -- VIDEO

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief Jitu Patwari highlighted the issues being faced by farmers in Sironj, Vidisha and condemned the government for leaving them ‘unaddressed.’ The clips shows the farmers demanding the government to start procurement of wheat and extend the (Kisan Credit Card) loan repayment deadline by one month.

Patwari posted on social media, stating that the farmers are in deep distress. He wrote, "Sironj ke kisan bhai ne khoon-paseene se gehun ki fasal ugayi, lekin BJP sarkar use MSP par nahi kharid rahi hai, jiske chalte vah karz ki kishten bharne mein asamarth hai. Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji, Bharat ke kis kone mein ve kisan hain jinki aay aapne 8 guna kar di....(Farmers in Sironj have grown their wheat crop with blood and sweat, but the BJP government is not buying it at MSP, leaving them unable to repay their loan installments. Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji, in which part of India are these farmers whose income you claim to have increased eightfold? In our Madhya Pradesh, farmers are shedding tears of blood due to debt everywhere. If these farmers are not given justice, they will have to carry their sacks of grain on their shoulders again)?"

He also stated that farmers in Madhya Pradesh are ‘crying tears of blood’ under the pressure of debt. He warned that if justice is not given, farmers will be forced to carry their grain sacks in protest again.

‘Take the grain sack, clear our loans’

Notably, hundreds of farmers in Sironj staged a protest at a cooperative bank demanding an extension of the loan repayment deadline. They said the delays in government procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) have left them without income.

The protesting farmers demanded:

Extension of the KCC repayment deadline by at least one month

Immediate start of MSP procurement centres

The protestors carried the sacks of wheat in protest, asking authorities to ‘take the wheat and clear our loans.’

Farmers said their crops, grown with 4 months of hard work, are still in the fields or just being harvested. However, government procurement at MSP has not yet started, leaving them without cash to repay their Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans.

They alleged that the state government has fixed March 26 as the recovery deadline, while market prices in mandis are very low. 

With no procurement centres operational, farmers were forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices to meet urgent needs.

Farmers said they would be able to repay loans only after selling wheat, gram, lentils, and mustard at MSP.

The last date to deposit KCC dues in cooperative societies is March 31. To avoid default, farmers are bringing produce to mandis, but traders are offering very low prices due to urgent needs.