New Delhi: On a day when the Centre announced relief packages for the vulnerable sections of the society in view of the lockdown in place, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday demanded that the government declare crop harvesting and procurement as part of essential services.
Suggesting a few extra measures to help the farmers of the nation, Surjewala said, "How should the standing crop of the farmers be harvested? I hope you know that 334 lakh hectares of wheat is now ready to be harvested in India alone, including 130 lakh hectare in Punjab, 93 lakh hectare in Haryana, 37 lakh hectare in UP, 68 lakh hectare in MP and in other states."
"But all the grain markets are shut. Food Corporation of India has not come forward with procurement. If this hasn't been done, then the farmer will lose almost 40 per cent of his standing crop from which he'll never be able to recover," he added.
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Earlier today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a relief package of Rs 2,000 for the farmers, as their first instalment, under the Kisan Samman Nidhi in the first week of April.
Reacting to the move, Surjewala said, "But farmers are supposed to be paid a sum of Rs 6,000 under the PM Kisan Yojana as per the previous announcements bereft of the Coronavirus. Even Sonia Gandhi ji has suggested a payment of Rs 7,500 over and above Rs 6,000. We humbly request the government to consider it."
Surjewala also appealed to the Finance Minister to increase the amount of money that will be given to the vulnerable sections of the society from Rs 500 to Rs 7,500 and also for the salaried class employees, to defer all EMIs for a period of six months, to waive off interest rates and deduction of all loan installments.
Mentioning about the unavailability of public protection equipment from the market, Surjewala said, "What about whole sale black marketing thay is happening of sanitizers, masks, and surging prices of fruits, vegetables and of all essential commodities. Nothing is available in the market. Kindly ensure that these black marketers are punished and these goods are available in decent prices."
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