Farmers’ role key in making India developed nation: Rajnath

Gives tips to improve conditions of farmers during BJPKM’s national executive meeting

Raipur, February 26, 2011

Farmers will play key role in making India a developed nation. For this, the progeny of farmers must continue their inherited profession instead of selecting any other discipline. This will help the agriculture sector to resume its glorious period. The inputs pertaining to farmers’ contribution in making the nation a global leader was given by former Union Agriculture Minister and BJP’s ex-national president Rajnath Singh while he was speaking on his party’s national agenda – kisan aur Krishi 2025 during the inaugural session of Bharatiya Janata Party Kisan Morcha’s (BJPKM) two-day national executive meeting that commenced in the state capital at Pujari Park (Dhamtari road) from Saturday.

“The farmers remained neglected after independence due to which our country is still graded among developing nations,” Singh said.

Hailing the morcha’s national president Omprakash Dhankad for conceiving a conference on farmers and their benefit, Singh said the morcha should also organise such meetings at block and district levels to gain public trust, especially farmers.

Slamming the Union government for neglecting the poor and wrongly portraying the country’s economy, Singh said all the claims made by the Centre and economists that India has come above poverty line were baseless. “Even presently, over 80 percent of the country’s population belongs to impoverished class and the ramification of terrorism and naxalism is due to increasing income gap between rich and poor,” he said.

He indicated that although the rest of world opposed India’s nuclear tests in 1998, the US President Barack Obama during his maiden visit to the country had to admit that it had developed into superpower.

To improve the conditions of the farmers, he said the Centre should take initiative in reducing the investment cost in cultivation. “Since the small farmers lack capital the Centre should provide them farm loans at cheap rate of interest that should not exceed 3 percent,” Singh said pointing that the BJP-ruled states had adopted this format to reduce the burden from farmers and open avenues for their progress.

He promised that if the BJP would get mandate to make government at Centre then it would advice the Prime Minister to provide loans to the farmers at zero percent rate of interest.

He advocated conferring of awards like Padmvibhushan to farmers and agriculture scientists to encourage them. “Such awards are usually given to the outstanding performers in different disciplines but agriculture should also be incorporated as prominent sector,” Singh said. He demanded from the Centre to announce farming as national profession.

The BJPKM national president Omprakash Dhankad suggested that the Centre should make agriculture budget instead of rail budget. “Over 60 percent of the country’s population depends on agriculture sector hence it should get equal importance,” he said.

He further suggested that the Centre should purchase crops from the farmers at higher rate. “The crops with Rs 1200 per quintal investment should be purchased at the rate of Rs 1800 per quintal and only then the farmers conditions would be improved,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Centre, he said it had launched several schemes for 26 percent labourers of the country but had completely neglected the 60 percent farmers.

At inaugural session, Singh was accompanied former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussein, morcha’s national incharge Satpal Malik, BJP national general secretary and Chhattisgarh incharge Jagat Prakash Nadda, BJP state president Ramsewak Paikra, PWD Minister Brijmohan Agrawal, Health Minister Amar Agrawal, Agriculture Minister Chandrashekhar Sahu, Urban Administration Minister Rajesh Munat, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ramvichar Netam, etc.

Political parties, different organisations criticise state budget

Raipur, February 26, 2011

No relief to common man

CPI(M)Slamming the state government for preparing anti-people budget, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the government had made no provision to bring relief to the common man who is already burdened with price rise. “The government waived of tax on materials related to fasting and puja while did not give relaxation on essential foodgrains that indicates its communal face and resoluteness to encourage its political ideology across the state,” said the CPI(M) secretary Dharmraj Mahapatra. “The government could have curtailed tax on petroleum products but it rather reduced tax on sale of old cars from 5 percent to 1 percent. This displays BJP government’s pro-capitalist attitude. The government also neglected unemployed youths and did not show any ray of hope for job opportunities in the state,” he said.

It is a hopeless budget: CRKS

The Chhattisgarh Rajya Karmachari Sangh (CRKS) has termed the budget as hopeless. “We were expecting that the state government will implement the recommendations of DN Tiwari committee on ten percent dearness allowance (DA) and salary discrepancies of the employees,” said the CRKS state president Mahendra Jain, general secretary Virendra Namdeo and other office-bearers of the Sangh. The CRKS will stage statewide dharna with these to demands on March 17, 2011, they said.

No provision for poor, widows & disabled: NCP

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said that the Chief Minister Raman Singh has not made any provision for impoverished class, disabled and widows who have to toil hard for subsistence.

RSU to derecognise colleges that increased M Ed seat sans permission

Raipur, February 26, 2011

Pt Ravishankar Shukla University (RSU) will derecognise those colleges affiliated with it that have violated varsity’s Statute No 27 had increased M Ed seats without permission. The decision was taken the RSU’s Executive Council (EC) during its meeting on Saturday.

The EC said before taking decision to derecognise such colleges, the varsity administration would shot notices on them to clarify. These colleges should explain in detail whether they took decision to increase ten seats in M Ed course by obtaining permission from the state government or the varsity administration, said the Council members.

If the colleges would not give satisfactory reply then the varsity will impose fine on them to the tune of Rs 5000 per student and invalidate their affiliation for academic session 2010-11.

However, these institutes would only be allowed to commence admission process in M Ed courses in next academic session (2011-12) when the varsity’s team would conduct inspection and recommend the RSU administration to provide temporary affiliation to them.

The EC also approved the names of 128 examination centres for the RSU’s main exams i.e. BA, B Com, B Sc, MA, M Com, M Sc, B Ed, M Ed and B P Ed in this for academic session 2010-11.

On transfers of teaching and non-teaching staffers on deputation, the EC felt that the RSU should frame comprehensive rules on deputation. The decision was taken after the Council was informed about Dr DK Pandey, lecturer in Commerce department at Government Art and Commerce College Kohka-Nevra, Raipur who has been appointed on deputation in the RSU as dean students’ welfare from February 4, 2011.

The EC also approved varsity administration’s decision to issue PhDs to 27 students from December 12, 2010 to January 31, 2011 (under notification 1964 to 1990).

The Council also nodded for announcement of the pending result of the student Dashrathi Sahu who had appeared in B Ed exams in academic session 2007-08.