Raju Shetty warns BJP on onion prices, anti-farmer policies

PUNE: Raju Shetty, leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana, has warned the union government that it may have to pay a price for its anti-farmer policies, especially its decisions to keep onion prices suppressed, in the state assembly elections. The Sangathana, an ally of the BJP-Shiv Sena Mahayuti in Maharashtra, has threatened to launch agitations over onion price issue from next week if the government does not remove restrictions on onion trade.

“I have presented my demands of onion farmers to union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan. If the government does not accept these demands, then it should be ready to pay the price,” said Shetty, speaking at a news conference in Pune on Thursday.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has started attacking the BJP government in centre for its anti-farmer policies at various public meetings and rallies. NCP’s RR Patil, cabinet minister (Home Affairs), Maharashtra had recently demanded resignations of Shetty, a member of the Lok Sabha, on the issue of onion prices. However, Shetty said that during the 10 year tenure of Pawar as agriculture minister, MEP was imposed on onion 17 times while export ban was imposed four times.
Shetty said that he has demanded removal of onion from the Essential Commodities Act and also removal of the minimum export price (MEP) on onion. “If the government put export restrictions saying that the onion prices had shoot up, now that the prices have crashed making farmer bear losses, the government should extend subsidy to export onions.

We also want imposition of import duty on the bulb,” he said, adding, “The government should tighten the noose around necks of the bunch of traders, who manipulate prices to bridge the gap between farmer level prices and the retail prices.”PUNE: Raju Shetty, leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana, has warned the union government that it may have to pay a price for its anti-farmer policies, especially its decisions to keep onion prices suppressed, in the state assembly elections. The Sangathana, an ally of the BJP-Shiv Sena Mahayuti in Maharashtra, has threatened to launch agitations over onion price issue from next week if the government does not remove restrictions on onion trade.

“I have presented my demands of onion farmers to union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan. If the government does not accept these demands, then it should be ready to pay the price,” said Shetty, speaking at a news conference in Pune on Thursday.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has started attacking the BJP government in centre for its anti-farmer policies at various public meetings and rallies. NCP’s RR Patil, cabinet minister (Home Affairs), Maharashtra had recently demanded resignations of Shetty, a member of the Lok Sabha, on the issue of onion prices. However, Shetty said that during the 10 year tenure of Pawar as agriculture minister, MEP was imposed on onion 17 times while export ban was imposed four times.

Shetty said that he has demanded removal of onion from the Essential Commodities Act and also removal of the minimum export price (MEP) on onion. “If the government put export restrictions saying that the onion prices had shoot up, now that the prices have crashed making farmer bear losses, the government should extend subsidy to export onions.

We also want imposition of import duty on the bulb,” he said, adding, “The government should tighten the noose around necks of the bunch of traders, who manipulate prices to bridge the gap between farmer level prices and the retail prices.”