ND: Left-ruled Kerala differs on agrarian reforms

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, May 29: Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today said any move to integrate Indian agriculture with global capitalism was "inimical" to the interests of peasants and therefore unacceptable.

"Such an integration, even if it succeeds in increasing the rate of agricultural growth, will give rise to a net displacement of pepole from agriculture, and, given the unequal bargaining strengths of the corporate players and the peasantry, further accentuated by such displacement, to a perpetuation of the misery of the peasantry and agricutlural labourers," he said while speaking at the National Development Council (NDC) meeting here.

Mr Achuthanandan, a top Marxist leader, said the suggested modification of tenancy legislation was unwelcome as a major legacy of the first Communist ministry in Kerala was introduction of land reforms.

"We shall do nothing that goes against the essential thrust of Kerala's glorious achievements in the sphere of land reforms." In this context, he supported an alternative approach emphasising the "protection of peasant agriculture from the baneful consequences of integration with global capitalism, through deliberate interventions by the state." Mr Achuthanandan said the main reason for the agrarian crisis and consequent stagnation in output was the withdrawal of governmental support after liberalisation.

"Therefore, the way out of the crisis is for the state to support, protect, nurture, and promote peasant production. Once peasant production has been made viable through such suppport, then it will also begin to grow and flourish. " While listing out several new reforms the Marxist-led Left Democratic Front government had ushered in to revive the agricutlure sector in Kerala, Mr Achuthanandan suggested that each state should be allowed to pursue its own strategy with the Centre offering assistance dispassionately.

In this context, he pointed out that the states should not be forced to adopt the approach of the Centre and the NDC Sub-committee as agriculture was a state subject .

"When the strategy we have put in place in Kerala is beginning to yield dividends, for us to jettison it now and adopt another that we do not believe in, would be tantamount to exchanging two birds in hand for one in the bush!" Mr Achuthanandan requested the Centre not to link the additional central assistance to the adoption of a particular strategy.

"We would also urge it to give us additional support for our strategy, in lieu, of what it would have given us had we followed the strategy suggested by teh NDC Sub-committee, so that our attempt to provide debt relief and an assured procurement price of Rs 8.50 per kg of paddy, does not run aground.

After all, alleviating peasants' distress is all that presumably matters, and for us our measures seem to be working Why should our efforts not be supported, and why should we be asked to abandon them simply because they differ from some other strategy that the Centre and the NDC sub-commitee prefer?" he asked.

"Let one strategy not be privileged over others and let there be freedom to pursue alternative strategies."

UNI

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