Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal on Monday said the loan waiver declared by the state govt in the annual budget remains a fiction until farmers actually receive debt relief.“BJP govt is inherently anti-farmer, and the loan waiver announced by the Devendra Fadnavis administration is merely a dish of false promises — something that cannot be accepted as truth until it is actually consumed,” he said.To press for various demands on behalf of the farming community, the Congress organised a ‘Kisan Sangharsh Nyay Yatra’ (Farmers’ Struggle for Justice March) on Monday along the route from Suratgaon to Tuljapur in Tuljapur taluka of Dharashiv district. Addressing the rally, Sapkal said farmers are plagued by natural and man-made crises, they are not receiving fair prices for their produce, and suicides are on the rise.“We demand all outstanding dues recorded in the farmers’ 7/12 land records be cleared. Only such a move will benefit farmers,” he said.Sapkal also said farmers were deeply concerned about the trade agreement forged by the Modi govt at the Centre with the US govt. “The agreement is reached by capitulating to the United States. This agreement will spell ruin for India’s agriculture and its farmers,” he said.Speaking to the reporters, Sapkal said the issues facing farmers, workers, women, and the youth are grave. “Inflation and unemployment are on the rise. LPG cylinders, petrol, and diesel are becoming unavailable, yet the govt is paying no heed to this situation. Attempts are being made to impose a dictatorship upon the country, and in blatant disregard of the Constitution,” he said.
