BJP to hold farmers rally outside Parliament on Aug 20

Chandigarh, Aug 9 (UNI) The BJP will organise a rally outside the Parliament House on August 20 to highlight the problems of farmers in the country and protest against the alleged anti-farmer policies of the UPA government.

Announcing this at a press confrence here today, former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu said the farmers in the country were reeling under several problems and were led to commit suicide.

He said farmers from across the country would participate in the rally to be held during the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The UPA government was importing wheat from foreign countries at a high price while the farmers were not getting adequate price for their produce, he said.

During the NDA regime, the government was exporting wheat to the other countries while the UPA had now reversed the process, Mr Naidu said The BJP, he said, would press for stoppage of import of wheat as it was harming the interests of the farmers in the country.

On the issue of Special Economic Zone (SEZ), he said no fertile land should be acquired for the purpose and the farmers should be made stakeholders in SEZs wherever they were set up.

Also, the government should not itself acquire any land for setting SEZs but should only play the role of a facilitator, he added.

UNI