Narendra Modi declares his commitment to farmers all the time but his government has steadily acted against them. The political cost is going to be steep. From rail rokos and stone-pelting to urea trucks being looted, farmers across the country are increasingly ranged against the NDA government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi vehemently declares his commitment to farmers in all public forums, including his signature radio show and the social media. In Twitter terminology, @narendramodi aspires to #pro-poor&farmer-friendly. Is @aamkisan impressed by Narendrabhai’s rhetoric? Given that it has been a bad year for farmers, with no sign that he will deliver on promises made to them over Chai pe Charcha 13 months ago, their scepticism is understandable.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tenure started on an unhappy note, farmer-wise, with Modi’s swearing-in heralding a free-fall in prices of cotton and paddy – two of the principle kharif crops. By November 2014, cotton prices were at their lowest in five years, and paddy prices at their lowest in four years. Arguably, there wasn’t much India could have done to shore up prices in the face of China’s release of reserve stocks of cotton or Iran’s crackdown on rice imports rom India (allegedly after President Hassan Rouhani’s requested meeting with Modi did not materialize). But the Opposition pilloried the government in Parliament for failing to step in with adequate farm support.
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