Cotton price: Gujarat government's Rs 1,100-crore relief package fails to pacify agitators

GANDHINAGAR: Farmers' agitation for better cotton prices in Gujarat took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when a young farmer immolated himself near Rajkot mounting trouble on the Anandiben Patel government that tried to appease the segment two days ago through a Rs 1,100-crore relief package. The state government appears cornered on the issue as dissenting voices from within the party have begun comparing the Patel government with that of her mentor Narendra Modi.
The agitation led by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has been seeking higher support price for cotton and even organised a rally in Ahmedabad to press for the demand.

“This incident will only add fuel to the fire,“ says Babu Patel, the general Secretary of BKS' Gujarat unit, pointing out that the BKS has not settled for anything with the government so far. Arvind Nagnani set himself on fire in the Jasdan market yard and succumbed to the injuries later.

“There is considerable anger among the farmers,“ says a senior BKS member from Saurashtra, adding that the organisation is agitating in other states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Protests will soon start in Maharashtra, he added.

Dilip Sanghani, a former agriculture minister of the state, says the government could have done more for the farmers.

Speaking to ET, Sanghani went on to say that the state government needs to support the farmers from its own exchequer and maintained that the incumbent government has not been able to address concerns of the farmers in the way Narendra Modi government did.

“I have been the agriculture minister in Narendrabhai's government. We have faced several situations but never one like this where a farmer is pushed to commit suicide,“ Sanghani said.