Khunti (Jharkhand): While farmers put on hold their 'Delhi Chalo' march till Friday following a farmer's death near Punjab-Haryana border yesterday, Union Minister Arjun Munda said that the Centre is committed towards farmer welfare and all proposals are under consideration.
Munda said that he has spoken with the farmers and the central government is taking the farmers' movement in a serious manner. "The proposals that were placed by the farmers are being considered with utmost importance. The Government of India and the Ministry of Agriculture will take a decision in the interest of all farmers. A solution has to be reached through talks. The government is constantly working for the welfare of the farmers," Munda said in Jharkhand's Khunti.
According to Munda now the entire assistance reaches the farmers through direct benefit transfer (DBT) compared to earlier when farmers received only a small portion of their allotment. "During the previous government, it used to be said that if Re 1 was sent from the Centre, only 15 paise reached the common people. Efforts are on to resolve the issues of the farmers and reach a solution soon," he said.
"One has the right to raise his opinion. It is natural that during discussions there may be disagreements. But, we are working hard to reach a solution with everybody's help," he said.
Munda had reached his parliamentary constituency Khunti. In the constituency's Diyakel, a livelihood and employment fair was held and a programme to distribute agricultural equipment was organised. Munda was present at the event as the chief guest.
At the last meeting with farmers, the Centre had offered to procure pulses and cotton at MSP by government agencies for a five-year contract. But, the farmers had rejected the proposal saying it was not in their interest. Till now, there were four rounds of meetings between the farmers and the Union government on February 8, 12, 15 and 18 but all went inconclusive.
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