Bhopal, May 8: Meant to be a showpiece of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s pro-kisan image, wheat procurement has crumbled under the weight of its popularity.
Chasing a record of sorts amid the projection of a bumper yield, Madhya Pradesh ended up delaying procurement in the absence of enough gunny bags, leading to an agitation by farmers who were all the more nervous about the safety of their produce following unseasonal rains. It culminated in police firing in Bareli, Raisen, on Monday, leaving a farmer dead and many others injured.
Not so long ago, farmers used to queue outside procurement centres, waiting for days for their turn to come. They had shown no sign of impatience then. This season, they had enthusiastically registered in advance for SMS alerts that would tell them when to turn up.
The state began procurement on March 15, much before major wheat producers like Punjab and Haryana. The process began well, with procurement on some days exceeding one lakh tonnes. A few years earlier, the total seasonal procurement would be less than 5 lakh tonnes, a fifth of the PDS requirement of 2.5 million tonnes.
The turnaround is the result of increased irrigation potential, favourable weather and a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal over and above the minimum support price. The state procured nearly 5 million tonnes last year and was eyeing 7.5 million tonnes this year, revised from 6 million tonnes.
Things began to go wrong a month after the season began. As the shortage of gunny bags became apparent, the farmers for once showed signs of restlessness, and the Congress picked up the opportunity to bait the government.
Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Paras Jain then asserted that the government wouldn’t procure low quality wheat. Amid the outcry that followed, Chouhan not only extended the last date from May 20 to May 31 but also announced that his government would purchase “the last grain from farmers”.
A fortnight ago, Chouhan accused the Centre of not supplying the consignment of gunny bags despite the payment having been made months in advance. Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution K V Thomas then accused the BJP government of having failed to make proper projections, leading to a war of words and exchange of letters between state an Centre.
At home, the government’s strongest critic has been not the Congress but the Sangh Parivar’s own Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. The BKS and the Congress rallied their respective cadres following the alleged suicide on Sunday by a farmer who reportedly could not sell his produce for days. The BKS called a dharna on Monday but distances itself from the large-scale arson and assault of government officials.
The last time the ruling BJP found itself in a situation as difficult as this was two years ago, when the BKS mobilised its cadres from across the state overnight. Bhopal woke up to traffic jams and the sight of farmers cooking in the middle of the road.
“We may be affiliated with the RSS but our constitution binds us to the welfare of farmers who are our first priority,” said BKS spokesman Sandeep Shrivastava when asked what made the organisation take on the BJP, and inadvertently side with the Congress.
“It was clear from the beginning that they needed at least 12 crore bags but they could not arrange for those,” said a leader of the BKS, whose state president Shiv Sharma was arrested along with 40-odd members after Monday’s violence. Shrivastava accused the bureaucracy of incompetence and the government of lacking the political will to improve its performance.
The hard line taken by the BKS has enthused the Congress. PCC chief Kantilal Bhuria accused the administration of deliberately creating the shortages so that BJP-affiliated traders would be able to buy cheap from farmers.
State BJP chief Prabhat Jha, who cancelled the celebrations to mark the completon of two years in office, blamed the Congress for instigating the violence. Jha and the chief minister both refrained from naming the BKS; the latter said criminals would be dealt with sternly.