BJD leaders slam Odisha Government’s “anti-farmer” policies, seek President’s intervention

Bhubaneswar, Aug 18 (UNI) The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the principal opposition party in Odisha, today launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led state government, accusing it of pursuing anti-farmer policies that have pushed cultivators into distress and untold misery.

Addressing a massive farmers’ rally at Bargarh in western Odisha—known as the state’s “rice bowl”—BJD leaders alleged that the plight of farmers has worsened in the last 14 months under the “double-engine government.”
Later, the BJD submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu through the Bargarh District Collector, seeking her urgent intervention to resolve farmers’ issues.

The memorandum highlighted pressing concerns such as the complex farmer registration system for paddy procurement, irregularities in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, lapses in the CM Kissan Yojana, issues of “katani chhatni” in procurement, and the dominance of middlemen in the paddy trade.

BJD leaders claimed that the current farmer registration process is unnecessarily complicated, requiring e-KYC with Aadhaar cards of all descendants, which has created harassment and
deprived many farmers of registration.
They demanded the immediate issuance of clear guidelines and an extension of the registration deadline.
On the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the party alleged that the BJP government was
“cheating farmers in the name of insurance” and benefitting private companies.
Farmers, they said, are compelled to buy insurance every year, but when natural disasters like drought, floods, or cyclones occur, they are denied compensation due to cumbersome procedures.

The BJD demanded timely disbursement of insurance claims, simplification of rules, and involvement of government insurance companies instead of private firms.

Criticising the paddy procurement process, BJD leaders alleged that the system was dominated by brokers, millers, and officials, leaving thousands of bags of paddy unsold in mandis. While the government had promised Rs 3,100 per quintal, farmers were allegedly forced to sell at Rs 1,200–1,400.
The leaders also accused the government of failing to release input assistance to farmers whose crops were damaged by unseasonal rains, demanding immediate compensation.

Further, the party said lakhs of sharecroppers, landless labourers, and nomadic farmers have been excluded from the CM Kissan Yojana and reiterated the demand for implementing the Saminathan Committee’s recommendation of fixing the minimum support price at 1.5 times the cost of production.
On the availability of seeds and fertilizers, the BJD alleged that government seeds are out of reach for farmers, while fertilizers supplied to cooperative societies are being diverted, forcing farmers to buy them at double the price from private traders. The party demanded that fertilizers be supplied at government rates to all farmers.

The memorandum also pointed to the decline in allied sectors such as poultry, fishery, animal husbandry, and dairy farming, blaming the government’s “apathy.”
To revive these sectors, the BJD urged government support, simplified loan provisions, subsidies, and assured marketing arrangements.