Ruling BJD In Odisha Has Moral Support For Farmers’ Stir, Says Party Leader

Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD in Odisha on Saturday came out in support of the farmers protesting against the new farm laws of the Centre.

Speaking to the media, BJD leader Sashi Bhusan Behera said that his party has made its stand clear on the issues of the farmers. “To ensure improvement in the livelihood of the farmers, we have framed an exclusive agri budget and taken up their issues in the agriculture Cabinet. Apart from this, we have passed a unanimous resolution on the recommendation of the Swaminathan Committee in the State Assembly and urged the Centre to double the minimum support price (MSP) for the farmers,” Behera said.

Maintaining that the BJD agrees to some of the legitimate demands of the agitating farmers and has extended its moral support to them, he said in a democratic setup, everyone has the right to demonstrate. However, he hoped that the farmers will not politicise their demands.

On the allegation of the farmers that the Centre has dubbed them as anti-national, Behera said this is a serious allegation against those who are the ‘annadata’ (food provider) of the country.