'West Bengal farmers resorting to distress sales due to wrong TMC policies': Dilip Ghosh

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Friday accused the TMC government of following wrong policies that are 'hurting' farmers who are not getting the benefit of minimum support price (MSP). He said the Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the MSP of some crops by almost 1.5 times, but it is not benefitting the farmers due to the state policies. 

Addressing a meeting of the Bharatiya Kisan Morcha in Kolkata, Ghosh claimed that farmers are resorting to distress sale of their produce as a result of the incorrect policies. 

The agricultural policy of West Bengal has been framed keeping in mind the interest of the party workers of the TMC. In the process, it is not the farmers but the intermediaries who are reaping the benefits, the BJP leader claimed. 

He said the Centre has reduced the price of fertilizers with the aim to help farmers in getting the right price. PM Modi has also been trying to make the farmers self-sufficient and double their income, he added

Earlier this month, Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari hit out at the TMC government for 'depriving' the farmers of Central schemes. PM Modi had recently announced to transfer nearly Rs 19,500 crore to 10 crore farmers across the country as the 9th instalment of the revolutionary PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. 

Mamata Banerjee 'depriving' farmers of Central benefits

Suvendu alleged that farmers of Bengal are being deprived of the benefits of central schemes due to the chief minister's objection regarding direct transfer to the beneficiaries. WB excels in promoting middleman culture and cut-economy. Complete authentic details of the remaining farmers are yet to be provided, he had said. 

Earlier, both Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had attacked CM Mamata Banerjee over the same issue, stating that, "Didi does not want to uplift the status of the poor farmers for which she is not sending the names of the beneficiaries to the Centre."

On February 24, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM-KISAN scheme, under which all small and marginal farmers will be provided income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments, which will be deposited directly to their bank accounts. The total annual expenditure for this scheme is expected to be Rs 75,000 crore which will be financed by the Union Government.

(With inputs from agency)