Lucknow: PM Narendra Modi officially kick-started the political campaign in Uttar Pradesh for 2019 Lok Sabha Polls by addressing the ‘Vijay Sankalp Sabha’ today in Meerut. The constituency along with seven other parliamentary constituencies will be voting in the first phase on 11th April 2019. However, the soaring cane dues of farmers can hit the aspirations of the BJP in this region.
As per a report published in TOI the cane development data of the current crushing season shows that the Meerut division which is made up of five districts - Bulandshehar, Hapur, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, and Meerut has dues amounting to Rs 1862 crore of cane farmers which accounts for 19% of the total 9800 crore arrears.
The report also claims that the three mills at Brijnathpur, Simbhaoli, and Modinagar, have not paid to cane growers in the ongoing season, despite strict orders from CM Yogi Adityanath himself. The mills have dues of over Rs 600 crore.
Interestingly, cane dues were one of the main issues that led to the BJP’s loss in 2018 by polls in the state.
However, UP Cane Minister Suresh Rana claimed, “Our government has paid more than Rs 35,000 crore to cane farmers for last crushing season, which is much more than what was paid by SP and BSP regimes. We have also made three non-functional mills operational in this season. There is no resentment against us in cane growing region. The opposition is unnecessarily raking up the issue for the sake of it.”
Speaking at the rally in Meerut today PM Modi said, “Earlier sugar mills were sold to businessmen at throwaway rates while sugarcane farmers had to wait for years to get their dues cleared. I want to assure cane farmers that not even a single penny will be left unpaid, Yogi Government will be clearing all the dues of cane farmers soon.”
Modi attacked the Samajwadi party saying that their government had left dues of cane farmers worth Rs 35,000 crore for the Yogi Adityanath government in the state. While, most of the payments have been cleared and the ones left will be cleared soon, he added.
Samajwadi Party Spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi reminded the public BJP’s 2014 Poll promise, which was to clear the dues within 14 days of coming to power, but dues today still remain unpaid.
“With the fresh crushing season in progress and new dues, the farmers are going to bear the brunt further. The sugarcane farmers will teach the BJP a lesson in 2019 like they did in 2018 by polls,” he said.
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