Maharashtra: Rahul Gandhi upbraids BJP for soybean, cotton farmers’ woes

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, 12 November, claimed Maharashtra's soyabean and cotton farmers are frustrated due to the BJP government's "anti-farmer" policies, and assured them the INDIA bloc would resolve their issues once it formed an MVA government in the state.

Gandhi said soybean prices were up to Rs 10,000 in 2021, but now farmers are forced to sell it at lower than the minimum support price (MSP). The MSP of soyabean is Rs 4,892, but farmers have to sell it at around Rs 4,200 or even less, he said.

'Soyabean farmers are very upset as they are not getting the right price despite good yield,' he said in a post on X.

'Soyabean and cotton farmers of Maharashtra are frustrated and disappointed due to the anti-farmer policies of the BJP,' he said. 'As soon as we form the government, we [the Maha Vikas Aghadi] will find a way to pay the right price to them.'

The former Congress chief interacted with soybean and cotton farmers of Maharashtra through video conference and heard their problems.

'Today, while interacting with farmers through Zoom, I also reiterated that to provide relief to them, we have guaranteed loan waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh under 'Krishi Samriddhi'. Along with this, the Rs 3000 per month in the accounts of women under 'Mahalakshmi' scheme will also provide them a lot of relief,' the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in his post.

Gandhi was to visit Chikhli in Buldhana district of poll-bound Maharashtra to address a rally of soyabean and cotton farmers. His rally was cancelled after his flight from Delhi faced a technical glitch.

"I apologise for that. I was supposed to address a public rally and interact with soybean farmers. Soybean and cotton farmers are facing big problems," Gandhi said in a video statement.

"I know that the BJP government does not give appropriate prices to soybean and cotton farmers. We will try to find a solution for your problems as soon as the INDIA bloc government comes to power," he added.