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Farmers' body raises doubts on Modi govt's commitment on

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
Raising doubts over the Centre's commitment on addressing agrarian issues, including suicides, the farmers' wing of CPI(M) today said the Modi government has "failed totally" in providing relief to peasants.

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), whose council met in Bengaluru between July 1 and July 4, also decided to launch a two-week campaign against the Union government's "betrayal" to peasantry.

The campaign would be held in the second half of August and will be followed by protest on September 1, it said.

"There has been a rapid rise in farmers' suicides in the last two years. According to analysts, everyday 52 farmers commit suicide, while the average for the last two decades was 42 suicides every day.
 

"... The BJP government has totally failed to provide relief and there were no contingency plans to address the situation," AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah and president Amra Ram said in a joint statement.

The duo said the government has "failed" in tackling drought situation too even as, they said, large scale land acquisition is going on across the country allegedly without consent of farmers.

They expressed concerns over the government easing foreign investment norms in agriculture and agro processing sectors.

To mount pressure on the Centre regarding farmers' issues, AIKS will also carry out four jathas (foot march) from different parts of the country "to expose its anti-peasants" character in November which would culminate into a rally on November 24.

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First Published: Jul 05 2016 | 8:58 PM IST

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