SP frowns at Centre over farmers’ compensation package

NEW DELHI: Facing allegations from Rahul Gandhi-led Congress that it is anti-farmer, the Modi government is set to come under more pressure with Samajwadi Party accusing it of giving Uttar Pradesh a cold shoulder in the wake of unseasonal rains and mounting cases of farmers' suicides.

Samajwadi Party MPs Ramgopal Yadav and Naresh Aggarwal are likely to raise in Rajya Sabha the issue of Centre's apathetic attitude towards the party-ruled UP. It could disrupt the upper House on the first day of the post-break budget session.

The party said the Akhilesh Yadav government raised a demand of Rs 6700 crore from the Centre to help the farmers facing penury owing to crop losses. According to Aggarwal, the Centre on Tuesday released Rs 253 crore, a pittance compared to the fact that the state has announced Rs 1100 crore as relief for farmers and already distributed Rs 700 crore.

"If this is not anti-farmer and pro-rich attitude, then what is?" Aggarwal said.

Uttar Pradesh has also accepted that 59 farmers have committed suicide and the state has announced Rs seven lakh for each one of them as against the Centre's standard of Rs four lakh.

Aggarwal alleged that insurance companies have cheated the state and the farmers because they had only distributed Rs two crore as crop insurance when high premium had been paid to them by the Centre and the state and the losses are very high. "The Centre should look into it," he said.

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