BHARATIYA KISAN SANGH

Aug 10 2011, Ahmedabad:

The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and several NGOs took out a protest on Tuesday against US genetically-modified seed producer Monsanto.

They took out their protest on the lines of the ‘Quit India Movement’ launched by Mahatma Gandhi against the British on August 9, 1942, and asked Monsanto to stop its activities in the country and quit India.

NGO representatives told mediapersons at Gujarat Vidyapeeth that if Monsanto gets total control over the country’s agriculture, it will begin interfering in the political affairs and virtually become another `East India Company’.

They said Monsanto had done immense harm to farmers in several American countries who realised very late their mistake by using Monsanto’s seeds. The yield of GM crops went down after a few years and Monsanto did nothing to solve their problems, they said.

They added they were not only against Monsanto but all multinationals.

Kapil Shah from the NGO Jatan said the company had claimed its Bt cotton seeds to be resistant to all insects and pests, but now it has become vulnerable to pest attacks and farmers have to spend a huge amount on pesticides and insecticides.

Besides, GM seeds have been found responsible for increase in occurrence of cancer in the Bhatinda-Sriganganagar belt in north India.

The representatives later submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Narendra Modi asking him to keep Monsanto and other MNCs out of government sponsored projects and stop the sale and distribution of GM seeds.

The memorandum demanded an agriculture policy of promoting local seed producing and distribution companies as that would sustain the country’s sovereignty in food security.

7 August 2011

‘Cost of cultivation has gone up considerably’

The State unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) on Saturday urged the Union Government to fix a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs. 2,500 a tonne for sugarcane this financial year in view of the steep increase in the cost of cultivation.

Addressing presspersons, Mohini Mohan Mishra, National Secretary of the BKS, also asked the Government to fix Rs. 2,000 a tonne as the MSP for sugarcane for 2010-11 and direct sugar mills that had paid Rs. 1, 800 as advance, to clear the dues.

He urged the State Government to exert pressure on the Centre to hike the import duty on silk and lift the ban on its export to address the problems faced by cotton and silk farmers in the State.

Mr. Mishra also asked the Government to fix Rs. 2,000 as MSP for paddy.

Due to un-seasonal rain in West Bengal, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh last year, paddy growers suffered heavy losses. However, he said the State and Union Governments did not come to their rescue. “This forced farmers to go for a crop holiday in nearly 1 lakh hectares in Andhra Pradesh. In Orissa, around 7 lakh ha. has been left fallow,” he said.

Mr. Sharma said recommendations of various panels, including the M.S. Swaminathan Committee, to raise the MSP for paddy to around Rs.1,600-1,800 per quintal had been put on hold. To discuss the problems faced by paddy growers in various States, the All India Paddy Growers’ Forum of the BKS held its convention here on August 5.

वाराणसी, 4 जुलाई।

विश्व संवाद केन्द्र के मालवीय सभागार में भारतीय किसान संघ द्वारा आयोजित पत्रकार-वार्ता को सम्बोधित करते हुए संगठन के राष्ट्रीय महामंत्री प्रभाकर जी केलकर ने कहा कि भ्रष्टाचार पर चौतरफा हमला के संकल्प के साथ भारतीय किसान संघ की अखिल भारतीय कार्यकारिणी की बैठक सम्पन्न हुई। दिनांक 2, 3 जुलाई 2011 को चली बैठक में भ्रष्टाचार, महँगाई के साथ-साथ चार मुद्दों लागत के आधार पर लाभकारी मूल्य घोषित करने, समक्ष कृषि उत्पादों को लाभकारी मूल्य पर खरीदी की सुव्यवस्था, कृषि के लिए पानी की व्यवस्था प्रथम प्राथमिकता, भूमि अधिग्रहण कानून से किसान-किसानी के अनुकूल परिवर्तन को लेकर आगामी तीन महिनों में देशभर के ग्रामों में, विकास खण्डों, जिलों में जन-जागरण अभियान कर सरकारों को चेतावनी दी जायेगी। उन्होंने कहा कि प्रदेश की राजधानियों में आन्दोलन एवं प्रदर्शन होंगे। यदि इसके बाद भी केन्द्र सरकार किसानों के अनुकूल नीतियां नहीं बनाती है तो दिल्ली कूंच का नारा दिया जायेगा। वर्तमान में दिल्ली सरकार की गलत नीतियों के कारण ग्रामीण आज संकट ग्रस्त है और किसान कर्ज में डूबकर आत्महत्या के गलत कदम उठा रहे हैं।

श्री केलकर ने सरकार को अगाह करते हुए कहा कि सरकार अपनी नीतियां सुधारें या उग्र आन्दोलन का सामना करने के लिए तैयार रहे। उन्होंने कहा कि इसकी पूरी जिम्मेदारी सरकार की होगी।

उन्होंने कहा कि कहा देश की लगभग 41 करोड़ जनसंख्या सर्वाधिक गरीब, अफ्रीकी देशों की जनता के स्तर पर जीवन-यापन करने पर मजबूर है। लगभग 50 प्रतिशत किसान कर्ज में डूबें हैं। भारत वर्ष के हर किसान पर औसतन 25902 रूपये का कर्ज है। किसानों को अपने उपज का लागत के आधार पर लाभकारी मूल्य नहीं प्राप्त हो रहा है। जबकि बाजार में खाद्यान्न महंगे दाम पर बेचे जा रहे हैं। किसान सहित देश के लगभग सभी नागरिकों को सरकारी दफ्तरों में कार्य कराने के लिए सुविधाशुल्क देना पड़ रहा है। एक साजिश के तहत किसानों की जमीन अधिग्रहित करके कारपोरेट जगत एवं बढ़े पूंजीपतियों को देने का काम बड़ी तेजीसे किया जा रहा है। किसानों का बीज उनसे छिन कर बड़ी कम्पनियों को बीज उत्पादन करने का अधिकार दिये जाने का कुचक्र रचा जा रहा है। भूमि, जल व वन सम्पदा, खनिज, जैव-विविधता आदि को कारपोरेट जगत एवं बहुराष्ट्रीय कम्पनियों को सौंपने की कपटपूर्ण योजना बनायी जा रही है। भ्रष्टाचार के विरूद्ध समाज के जागरूक एवं प्रतिष्ठित व्यक्तियों के आवाज को दबाने का हर प्रयत्न किया जा रहा है। देश की वर्तमान परिस्थिति सन् 1975 में लगे आपातकाल जैसी हो गयी है। बोलने का संवैधानिक अधिकार सत्ता बल से दबाया जा रहा है।

बैठक के विभिन्न सत्रों की अध्यक्षता राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री अण्णा साहब मुरकुटे, उपाध्यक्ष गण सर्वश्री राघव रेड्डी, दयाराम धाकड़ एवं चन्द्रिकाबेन सेंजरिया ने किया। संचालन राष्ट्रीय मंत्रीगण सर्वश्री मोहनी मोहन मिश्र, युगल किशोर मिश्र, अंम्बु भाई पटेल तथा सुनील पाण्डेय ने किया।

भ्रष्टाचार पर चौतरफा प्रहार आवश्यक

भारतीय किसान संघ अखिल भारतीय प्रबन्ध समिति की बैठक में भ्रष्टाचार पर निम्नलिखित प्रस्ताव पारित किया गया।

आज देश में भ्रष्टाचार का डंका बज रहा है। घोटालों की बाढ़ आ गई है। सन् 1980 के दशक में आठ बड़े घोटालों की सूची थी, सन् 1990 के दशक में यह सूची 26 तक पहुँच गयी। सन् 2000 के दशक में यह सूची 100 का आकड़ा पार कर गयी तथा इसमें निरन्तर बृद्धि हो रही है।

जबसे आर्थिक उदारीकरण का दौर प्रारम्भ हुआ है। कालेधन का प्रवाह तेज हुआ है, विदेशों में जमा होने वाला कालाधन बढ़ा है और भ्रष्टाचार का स्वरूप अधिक जटिल एवं विस्तृत हुआ है। ग्राम विकास की योजनाओं के क्रियान्वयन में भ्रष्टाचार चरम सीमा पर है। सरकारी कार्यालयों में अपना कार्य करने के लिए किसान सहित देश के अन्य नागरिकों का नित्य भ्रष्टाचार का सामना करना पड़ता है। निर्लज्ज भौतिकता भ्रष्टाचार का मूल आधार है। सामाजिक-सांस्कृतिक व आर्थिक संरचनाओं में परिवर्तन लाये बिना भ्रष्टाचार का निर्मूलन संभव नहीं है। इसलिए आवश्यक है कि भ्रष्टाचार पर चैतरफा प्रहार किया जाय।
आज भ्रष्टाचार के विरूद्ध देशव्यापी जनजागृति अभियान चलाने की आवश्यकता है। देश में भ्रष्टाचार एवं कालेधन के विरूद्ध जो अभियान शुरू हुआ है वह सराहनीय कदम है, भारतीय किसान संघ ऐसे सभी प्रयासों का समर्थन करता है तथा अखिल भारतीय प्रबन्ध कार्यकारिणी भारत सरकार से माँग करती है कि-

1. विदेशी बैकों में जमा कालाधन तत्काल वापस लाया जाए तथा उसे राष्ट्रीय सम्पत्ति घोषित किया जाय।

2. कालेधन की अर्थव्यवस्था पर सरकार संसद में श्वेत-पत्र प्रस्तुत करे।
3. कालेधन का 75 प्रतिशत भाग कृषि को लाभकारी बनाने तथा ग्रामीण विकास पर खर्च किया जाय।

4. भ्रष्टाचार से निपटने के लिए प्रभावी दण्डात्मक कानून बनाया जाय तथा निस्तारण के लिए फास्ट ट्रैक न्यायालयों का गठन किया जाय।

5. स्वास्थ्य एवं शिक्षा का बेलगाम निजीकरण रोका जाय।

6. भ्रष्टाचार में संलिप्त पाये जाने वाले व्यक्तियों के चुनाव लड़ने पर प्रतिबन्ध लगाया जाय।

Indore, Jun 24

Madhya Pradesh Government will take care of farmers interests while acquiring their land for industrial projects, State’s Industries Minister, Kailash Vijaywargiya said here today.”We will acquire farmers land for the industrial projects only after taking their consent,” Vijaywargiya told reporters after a programme here.To a question, he said that Land Acquisition Act is there, but while acquiring land for industries the government would take care of farmers’ interests.The farmers under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh had organised a massive protest here recently against the present Land Acquisition Act and demanded it to be replaced with a new one.

AMALAPURAM: 7 June 2011: Farmers under the aegis of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh took out a motorcycle rally in 25 villages of Konaseema on Monday to create awareness among the farmers about ‘Paddy crop holiday,’ which the farmers declared voluntarily for the ensuring kharif season. In the wake of absence of Minimum Support Price for paddy in the rabi season, the farmers decided to observe ‘Paddy crop holiday’ for the kharif season and took out a huge rally in the town last week. The four-day motorcycle rally was aiming at visiting all the villages and interacting with the farmers at their doorstep and explaining them in detail about the decision and its possible outcome. Amalapuram is a town in East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The rally began at Bendamurlanka village of Allavaram mandal and proceeded towards Gotitippa, Allavaram, B. Ravulapalem, Kunavaram, Uppalaguptam before culminating at Katrenikona. Farmers joined the rally in each and every village and in all over 1,000 farmers participated in the rally. Secretary of the BKS’s State unit Mutyala Jameel, and district president D. Nageswara Rao were present. The rally will be taken up from I. Polavaram on Tuesday.

Farmers protest against ‘archaic’ Land acquisition Act

June 13, 2011

Indore

Terming the current Land Acquisition Act as colonial, large number of farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh on Monday staged a protest before the district collectorate demanding nullification of the ‘archaic’ act. “Under the current Act, farmers’ fertile land is being acquired forcibly for setting up industries and for other projects and we strongly oppose it,” Sangh national vice-president Dayaram Dhakad told mediapersons here. We have sought that this act be nullified and be replaced with a new farmer-friendly law, he said. Farmers also protested the hike in the prices of fertilisers, pesticides, electricity and seeds on the occasion. Many farmers whose land was acquired by the Government for industries and several other projects took part in the agitation. The district administration has made elaborate arrangements to deal with any situation in view of the agitation at the collectorate.

Jan 07, 2011

Bhopal: The state’s Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that his government has decided to create a fund for the welfare of farmers called ‘Kisan Kalyan Kosh’ and will also take steps to make the ‘Krishak Kalyan Ayog’ more effective. The Chief Minister made these declarations in a meeting with the officers of the agriculture department. Both these have been long standing demands of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh.
This was the first time that the CM reviewed the progress made on the demands of the farmers since their agitation began three weeks ago. He said that their demand for crop insurance will be sent to the central government. The CM also inquired about the steps taken against the sale of fake seeds and fertilizers.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan also informed that there is an urgent need to ensure that the grants made by the government for farming equipments are actually benefiting the farmers. The Bhartiya Kisan Sangh has demanded that the grant should be made directly to the farmers.

http://www.mpnewslive.com/agitating-farmers-demands-accepted-by-the-mp-chief-minister/

Veteran Swayamsevak and former general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh Vasantrao Vitthal Takwale who was popularly known as Baba Saheb Takwale, passed away at his residence in Wardha on December 20. He was 75.

Born on December 10, 1935 at Wardha, Maharashtra, Baba Saheb fought for the cause of farmers in the country for a long time. Though he was unable to conduct long tours for the organisation due to illness for some time, he was always worried for the betterment of the farmers and expansion of the Kisan Sangh activities. He was severely sick for the last two months and was undergoing treatment. Baba Saheb worked with BMS founder the late Dattopant Thengadi for many years. He was instrumental in expanding the BKS work in different parts of the country. He was jailed for 14 months during the Emergency. Though he was also active in politics for some time, he quit it soon and dedicated himself to the Kisan Sangh work.

Apart from various leaders of the RSS and its associated organisations, Kisan Sangh national president Shri Anna Saheb Murkute also attended the funeral. National organising secretary Shri Dinesh Kulkarni also paid tribute to the departed soul. According to Kisan Sangh national secretary Shri Mohini Mohan Mishra the condolence meetings were conducted in different states and district units on December 29 and 30. Also the karyakartas paid their tribute at the special condolence meeting organised at Kisan Sangh central office in New Delhi on December 30.

Farmer suicides in Bengal shame to Left

Bharatiya Kisan Sangh

This could not have come at a worse time for the West Bengal government. The state’s Left Front government, which is known for its pro-farmer land reforms, has been left shame-faced by recent statistics on farmer suicides.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records put Bengal sixth among states with the highest number of farmer suicides in recent years.

According to the NCRB, 3,537 farmers killed themselves in the state in the three years between 2001 and 2007 for which records are available. Only Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattishgarh and Madhya Pradesh have a worse record.

“In 2007 alone, 1,102 farmers committed suicide. Of these, 878 were male and 224 were female,” an NCRB official said. “The figure was 1,189 in 2006 while the highest number of 1,246 farmer suicides in the state took place in 2001.”

The farmers say the figures are hardly surprising as the Left only pays lip service to the cause of the poor.

“They may make tall claims, but the fact is that farmers are taking their lives forced by the policies of the state government,” Ajit Kumar Barik of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) said.

“Most of those who have committed suicide in Bengal were potato farmers,” Barik said. The absence of a government support price for the potato farmers has made the situation precarious for the poor farmers, he added.

“The state is the largest producer of potato in the country, but there is no support price for the farmers,” Barik claimed.

Most of the produce comes from Howrah and Hoogli districts. The wholesalers who buy potato from the farmers artificially create a situation where the farmers are forced to sell their produce at a low price,” Barik said.

In the last season, farmers from Howrah were pushed to sell potato for Rs 20 per 50 kg. “The state government has not even implemented the Kisan Credit Card properly,” he said.

Barik said small rice growers, too, are facing a difficult situation as the distribution of seeds and fertilisers is not happening properly. Most farmers are being forced to procure the same from the open market, leading to escalation of costs. All these factors are pushing small farmers into the vicious circle of debt which ultimately forces them to commit suicide,” he added.

The farmers’ wing of the CPM, however, rubbished the NCRB report. Tarun Roy of the Paschim Banga Pradeshik Krishak Seva said: “There has been no farmer suicide in West Bengal under the Left rule.” He said there was no truth in the report and it was “published with some vested interest”.

When contacted, the state’s agriculture secretary declined to comment, saying he has assumed charge only recently. “I have taken over recently and don’t know all about it yet. I will take a couple of days to comment on this,” he said.

Choudhary: Why are farmers exploited economically, mentally?

Bhopal Posted On Monday, August 30, 2010

Thousands of farmers who came from different parts of State staged effective demonstration today in support of their demands. Bhartiya Kisan Sangh State secretary Darshan Singh Choudhary said that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claims to be son of farmer then why is economic and mental exploitation of farmers done during his tenure. He added that Electricity Board is giving fake electricity bills to farmers without physical verification. Irrigation fields of farmers are being placed in higher slabs.
In the name of inspection of pumps departmental officers and employees state that the irrigation pumps of farmers are of higher horsepower and thus they doing atrocities on farmers economically and mentally. Responsibility of maintenance of transformers lies with Electricity Distribution Company. However, its parts are being replaced from the money of farmers which is against the rules.
Agitation will continue:
Agitation of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh will continue until Government does not put an end to the atrocities done on farmers. This was stated by Kisan Sangh State president Shivkumar Sharma. Sitting on the dais Chandra Vallabh Sharma, Kailash Singh Thakur, Puran Singh Yadav, Sarshan Singh Choudhary and other office-bearers addressed the farmers. Kishan Sangh secretary Darshan Singh cited example of the bribe taken Tehsildar from a farmer recently. Farmer of Udaypura was given fake electricity bill by Electricity Board amounting to Rs 93000 although transformer of that place is dysfunctional from many years.

Demands of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh
-At least 18 hour power supply should be ensured in rural areas
-Transformers installed under self-financed scheme should be restarted with 5 per cent supervision fees
-Those farmers who want to install transformers on their own expenses they should be given transformers with 50 per cent grant
-Transformer banks should be established at divisional level so that burnt transformers could be replaced immediately
-It should be ensured that burnt transformers are replaced in three days
-Distance between LB Line poles should be 200 feet
-Use of triple eight conductors should be completely stopped in line extension
-Capacity of electricity sub centers getting overloaded should be increased

-Capacity of transformers in rural areas should be increased
-Expansion of 11 and 33 KV lines should be done
-Dates should be fixed for holding problem solving camps at all the divisional offices
-Criterion of not giving less than 5 HP connection should be scrapped and permanent and temporary connections should be given on pumps of every HP
-Fertile land of farmers which is useful for agriculture should not be acquired

Courtesy : http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=46042