Bhopal: The electoral debate of the by-elections in Madhya Pradesh to be conducted for the 28 assembly seats started with the issues of the farmer, but by the last phase of the election campaign, the entire election has been confined to controversial statements.
Usually, farmers are mentioned in every election, despite this, the economic condition of the farmers of the state remains miserable.
According to a recent Central Government report, the average income of a farmer family in Madhya Pradesh is even lesser than the MNREGA labourer.
The average annual income of farmers who toil with their sweat and blood to cultivate crops is only 1 lakh 16 thousand 788.
According to the report of the Doubling Farmers Income Committee of the Central Government, on an average, the farmer of Madhya Pradesh earns 9732 rupees every month.
In such a situation, if it is distributed among all the members of the family, then the monthly income of every person of a 4-member farmer family is 2433 amounting to 81 rupees per day, which is almost half of the MNREGA wages.
During the by-elections, the farmers of the state and their issues have been buried under controversial statements, even though 70 per cent of the population of the state is associated with the agricultural sector.
The plight of farmers is not hidden from anyone. The same situation can be understood from the statistics of farmer suicides.
According to the NCRB data, in 2019, about 550 farmers had committed suicide in the state. More than 15,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last 15 years.
Five Krishi Karman Award did not show any effect
According to the report of the Central Government, the annual income of farmers in the state is about 1 lakh 16 thousand. These are the circumstances of the state when the state has won the Krishi Karman Award five times.
The Modi government has set a target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022, but it seems far-fetched considering that the issue of farmers is losing focus in electoral debates and not in the priority list of leaders.
Congress targeting BJP’s Plans
BJP and Congress leaders are only engaged in a war of words over the issue of farmers.
Meanwhile, Congress leader, Sajjan Singh Verma targeted the BJP's plans and said that BJP leaders have been making claims to make many miraculous announcements for farmers, but where is it? To increase the income of the farmers, a solid leader is needed; to increase the strength of the farmers a plan has to be made.
BJP hopes for central legislation
On the worsening situation of the farmers, BJP spokesperson Rahul Kothari said that the work that the BJP government has done in the last 15 years has started showing its effects. Slowly the situation of farmers is improving. Rahul Kothari said that the recent steps taken by the Central Government will also improve the condition of the farmers.
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