At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been campaigning aggressively for the second phase of assembly polls in Gujarat, Lokshahi Bachavo Abhiyaan (Save Democracy Movement) has alleged that the condition of farmers in the state is dismal.
While Modi has been bringing Pakistani references in his speeches and talks about development of Gujarat and works done by the Central government, Abhiyaan, a forum of like-minded people, has held that as the farmers were not getting viable price for the produce, they were getting under debt.
The Abhiyaan has under its umbrella people of the likes of former chief minister Suresh Mehta, economist Rohit Shukla, environmental activist Mahesh Pandya, political observer Hemant Shah and Gautam Thaker of PUCL.
During the ongoing elections, the Abhiyaan had also organised lectures by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
Shah held that in the last 17 years, 10,000 farmers have committed suicide. The figures are based on the records placed in the state assembly. He further claimed that during 2013 - 2015, as many as 1,483 farmers had committed suicides in Gujarat. They even alleged that the government was not providing assistance to the dependent family members of the farmers, who had committed suicide.
The activists also alleged that under the government's crop insurance scheme, the farmers do not get 100 per cent benefit.
According to them, livelihood of 3.60 crore people of Gujarat is derived from agricultural activities. This, according to them, represents 55 per cent of the total population.
Questioned as to what has been the reason that the BJP has been ruling the state for the last 22 years in spite of so many issues, Shah said that they have succeeded in coming to power by fooling the “innocent” people of Gujarat and by spreading lies.
Shukla pointed out that the PM was trying to polarise the voters by bringing reference of Congress leader Ahmed Patel.
Modi had on Sunday claimed that Pakistan had spoken about making Patel the chief minister of Gujarat. Pakistan has officially denied the allegation and said that it should not be dragged in the elections.
Talking about a hypothetical possibility, Shukla questioned as to why Patel could not become the chief minister of Gujarat since he was a registered voter of the state. By saying that Patel can not become the chief minister, do you mean to say that no Muslim can become chief minister of any state of India, Shukla questioned.
The activists also asked that by talking about Patel as the chief minister whether the BJP has conceded defeat.
