New Delhi: Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda on Thursday said that the party supports the decision by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to launch a series of nationwide protests against the refusal of the BJP government to implement their "reasonable" demands. Taking a jibe at the Union Government for not fulfilling the promises it had made to the SKM and other farmers, Hooda said that the party was trying to bring the farm laws "through the backdoor".
At a time when food security across the globe has been affected due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Hooda criticised the central government's import and export policies claiming that they were against the poor and in favour of a handful of industrialists close to the saffron party. The government has slashed wheat allocations for ten states, including BJP-ruled Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh which were among the biggest beneficiaries of the UPA’s National Food Security Act.
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"These states are paying the price for PM Modi’s usual quest for personal glory at the expense of Indian citizens," said Hooda. Mentioning NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand's statement on MSP, Hooda said, "The NITI Aayog has once again called for ending farm procurement and replacing it with deficiency price payments. Farmers are being burdened both by a shortage of fertilisers as well as climbing fertiliser prices, which has also been affecting crop sowing. DAP prices have gone from ₹1,200 to ₹1,350 per 50 kg bag while NPKS prices have gone from ₹1,290 to ₹1,400. This is costing shrugging farmers an additional ₹3,740 crores," said Hooda.
