Farmer leader flays govt’s decision to scrap import duty on wheat

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 18

Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, president, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal), today flayed the Union government’s decision to scrap the import duty on wheat. He said the decision would hit the backbone of farmers in the state.

“Zero per cent import duty on wheat is an anti-farmer decision. The government should implement the Swaminathan report as it had promised the farmers a number of times before the elections. Instead of implementing the report, it had hit the backbone of farmers by scraping the import duty on wheat,” he added.

In December last year, the Union government scrapped the 10 per cent import duty on wheat. As a result, around 55 lakh tonne wheat will reach India from countries like Ukraine and Australia in February. Without any import duty, wheat from foreign countries will be cheaper than Indian wheat. Big players in the wheat trade already have stocks till July and August.

Lakhowal said, “Ahead of the wheat procurement season, the farmers are expecting a bumper crop this year, but now they will have to bear huge losses because of the Union government’s decision. Who will purchase wheat from our farmers as huge stocks have already arrived from abroad? A number of farmer suicide cases have been reported in the state due to the agrarian crisis.”

On the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue, he said, “Before the Assembly elections, leaders of all political parties, including the AAP, Congress and Akali Dal, were issuing press releases and presenting themselves as saviours of state’s river waters. But now the Haryana government has announced with guts that it would construct the SYL part in Punjab itself, there is no one to speak on the issue.”