It has recently come to light that the BJP Government led by Narendra Modi has deliberately withheld over Rs.852.29 crores of paddy procurement dues to Kerala dating back to the five years preceding 2020-21. Another Rs.756.25 crore is also outstanding for paddy procured bringing the total to a whopping Rs.1,608.54 crores.
While this non-payment is at the hands of the BJP-led union government, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in a press statement has alleged that, the BJP in Kerala citing non-payment of paddy dues organised violent protests with the opposition also upping the ante against the LDF led State Government. The AIKS has demanded that the “chronology and modus operandi should be looked into to understand the sinister conspiracy.” “The extent to which the ruling BJP and the UDF can go to reap political gains, even if that leads to distress and death for the farmers.” The AIKS also states that the union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has, also, all this time, resorted to misinformation campaign against the State.
According to the AIKS, the “chronology and modus operandi followed by the BJP Government was to deliberately withhold payments rightfully due to the State, starve the state of funds, while the BJP State unit whips up emotions” at election time.” Meanwhile, states the AIKS, the entrenched sections of the corporate media indulge in endless debates to paint the CPI-M led state government in a negative light by stating that the union government had cleared all its dues and it was the fiscal mismanagement of the LDF led State government that has created the present crisis.
Tragically though the UDF is in the wider INDIA alliance, the AIKS alleges that, in Kerala, the opposition UDF parrots the BJP lies, and both then launch a massive misinformation campaign to paint their blatant lies as the truth, all to reap political benefits in the elections.
Now, today, the final release, by the union government, of the Rs.852.29 crores to Kerala as paddy procurement dues dating back to five years including Rs.116 crore to clear Minimum Support Price dues for 2019-20 and 2020-21 has nailed this combined lie of the BJP and UDF. Besides, states the AIKS, another Rs.756.25 crore is also outstanding for paddy already procured.
All this transpires while the LDF Government in Kerala has carried on a political and legal battle against the curtailment of its federal rights, against strangling the State by denying the finances due to it, reducing its borrowing limit etc. The state even approached the Supreme Court which intervened positively and forced the BJP Government to allow additional borrowing of Rs.13,608 crores while the state has sought at least an interim borrowing of Rs.26,226 crores.
The AIKS has, in this press statement also congratulated the LDF Government for doggedly pursuing the matter to ensure that the State gets its legitimate due and for upholding the federal rights of Kerala. AIKS calls upon all its units to expose the betrayal of the BJP Government as well as the UDF and the people of Kerala to give a fitting rebuff to these forces in the forthcoming elections. The statement has been issued by Ashok Dhawale, President and Vijoo Krishnan, general secretary, AIKS.
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