Bengal BJP raise potato farmers' issue, demand loan waiver

Farmers in West Bengal are currently facing difficulties as they claim that they are not receiving sufficient payment for their potato production. In response, the West Bengal BJP has demanded that the state government waive the loans of these farmers. BJP MLAs walked out of the state assembly and protested this issue, releasing slogans in the process. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition, stated that they had raised the farmers' issue in the assembly.

However, Farm Minister Pradeep Majumdar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chatterjee refuted the allegations that potato farmers are not receiving fair prices, describing them as baseless. As per reports, there has been a good production of vegetables in Bengal this winter season. As a result, there has been a lot of supply of vegetables in the market, due to which the prices of vegetables have not increased. Farmers are upset due to this.

Suvendu Adhikari has stated that the farmers in West Bengal are struggling to recover the money they invested in cultivating potatoes as they are not getting fair prices for their produce. This, in turn, has forced them to sell their potatoes at very low prices. Adhikari urged the government to take measures to protect the interests of the farmers, such as initiating a government-level purchase of potatoes. He emphasized that the government needs to prevent situations where potato farmers may feel compelled to commit suicide.

In the financial year 2022-23, Adhikari highlighted that BJP councilors staged a sit-in outside the assembly to demand the government to take action in the interests of potato farmers. Some of their demands included waiving loans for farmers who took short-term loans for potato cultivation and ensuring that the government purchases potatoes from the farmers.