Protest rally by farmers to oppose MoU

The Kisan Swaraj Yatra, a rally of farmers marching from Sabarmati in Gujarat to New Delhi, reached Jaipur on Thursday. Participants appealed to chief minister Ashok Gehlot to cancel the MoU that the state signed with Monsanto India Ltd, saying the agreement was anti-farmer. The Kheti Virasat Mission's Kavitha Kurunganti, who is among those leading the rally, claimed the government was surrendering famers' interests over seeds to profit-oriented multinational companies. The state government should work to ensure irrigation water, electricity and land for the peasants, she said. Enumerating hazards of letting the profit-making MNCs control agriculture techniques, Kurunganti said, "From witnessing increased productivity initially, Punjab today has turned into the cancer capital' of India." Addressing a press conference, Kavitha said people of Punjab were fighting with problems like premature greying of hair, infertility and abortions caused by unhealthy' farm-food grown through ill-thought out agricultural techniques and policies. Vice-president of the state planning board, V S Vyas said while 85% farmers in the country did not have landholdings of even five-acre size, the actual number of such farmers in Rajasthan was much higher. The 75-day rally has being organised by farmers, youth, NGOs and civil rights groups to create awareness among general public on issues related to farmers and farming.