BJP Kisan Morcha hold dharna to protest Govt anti farmers policies

New Delhi, June 14 (UNI) The BJP Delhi Pradesh Kisan Morcha today staged a dharna here to protest the anti farmer policies of the Central and Delhi Governments and backbreaking price spiral.

Hundreds of farmers participated in the dharna, held at Jantar Mantar under the leadership of BJP Delhi Pradesh president Harsh Vardhan, National Kisan Morcha president Vinod Pandey and Delhi Kisan Morcha president Jeet Ram Solanki.

Addressing farmers, Dr Harsh Vardhan said the State Government had announced compensation of Rs 75 lakh per acre for acquisition of land only to get applause from the farmers, but not a single farmer has been paid compensation at this rate till date.

''This is why farmers of Delhi are sitting on dharna to demand compensation at this rate at Khanjhawala for the last three months and nobody is listening to them,'' Dr Harshvardhan said.

The BJP Pradesh president said during the last nine to ten years, the population of the rural area of the capital had increased in lakhs, but the Congress Government had not extended the Lal Dora area of any village, due to which the people were compelled to live in suffocating conditions.

He said during the BJP rule, the Government had framed a mini-Master Plan for all-round development of Delhi which had been put under cold storage by the present Government.

Speaking on the occasion, National president of Kisan Morcha Vinod Pandey alleged that the Government acquired land of the farmers at arbitrary rates and sold them at many times higher rates.

He said last year the minimum support price of wheat was Rs 850 per quintal, but the farmers refused to give wheat at this rate, due to which the Government had to purchase wheat at the rate of Rs 1680 per quintal from the foreign sources.

Among others who addressed the dharna included Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Jagdish Mukhi, Pawan Sharma, Alok Kumar, Ramesh Bidhuri, Ashok Tanwar and Rakesh Rana.

UNI AR GT BD2005