Bhubaneswar: The BJD and the two major Opposition parties vied with each other to woo farmers on Askhay Tritiya that marks the onset of farming activities in the state.
BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday donned the role of farmers and tilled land at a village in Kishannagar in Angul. He said the steps taken by his government for the welfare of the farmers started yielding results. The chief minister also said how his government was providing loans at a lower interests.
The rivalry between the BJD and the BJP acquired an edge as agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy taunted the saffron party for criticising the state government on every occasion.
The majority of farmers, who attended the state government-organised meet, appeared upset over the silence though Naveen ceremonially ploughed the small portion of an agricultural land.
"I had a lot of expectation that the chief minister would make an announcement on loan waiver," said Madhusudan Patra, a farmer.
Recently, the crop loan issue has become a subject of political controversy here in the wake of frequent incidents of farmer suicides. A farmer, Hadu Bagarti of Bargarh district, had last year committed suicide by consuming poison following crop failure. The issued had snowballed into a controversy, and later, the government was forced to shift the district collector. Nearly 1,900 farmers had allegedly committed suicide in the state between 2005 and 2014. In Odisha, nearly 34 lakh farmers have got loans to the tune of Rs 19,000 crore.
Maharathy said: "The farmers' community are aware of the issue that it is the Naveen Patnaik government that will only protect their interests."
Sources said the government had also earmarked nearly Rs 250 crore in the budget without mentioning for which purpose the money had been located.
State BJP president Basant Panda observed the Akshya Tritiya at Pathapura in Banki. He accused the government of neglecting the farmers' cause.
Congress president Prasad Harichandan, who took part in the party-organised Akshaya Tritiya function at a village on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar, lashed out at both the BJD and the BJP for ignoring the farmers' plight.
