BJP demands all party meeting on Farmers' issue

New Delhi, Oct 10 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today demanded the Government to convene all party meeting to consider the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF).

In a statement, BJP President Rajnath Singh said the Commission report submitted to the Government recently was significant as it also stressed the need to end the diversion of prime farmland for non-agricultural purpose such as the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The Government should circulate the report to all the parties and immediately convene a meeting to consider its recommendations to ''avert the worsening agrarian crisis leading to farmers' suicide in various states of the country", he said.

Calling for an urgent need to liberate the farmers from the "clutches of the moneylanders and informal credit system flourishing in the rural India at the cost of the farmer's lives and dwindling food production", the BJP President said the Government's response to the NCF report would show how sincere it was to the problems of the farmers and to tackle the depending agrarian crisis.

Mr Singh who had been the Agriculture Minister in the NDA Government, said that their Government had initiated a number of measures for the welfare of farmers that included the process of drastically reducing the rate of interests on agriclture loans and giving an idea of a fixed income for the farmers.

The BJP President appreciated the the Commission's recommendations like the determination of price on the basis of market, an arrangement for a fix source of income to the farmers, a market intervention scheme, the rate of interest on agriculture loan to be brought down to 4 per cent, establishing an agriculture risk fund and market stablisation fund and a knowledge power house for proper irrigation facilities and other knowledge based requirements of agriculture sector.

UNI KAS/MCN VD RN1656