Anna Hazare with members of the Navnirman Krushak Sangathan in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 1: Social activist Anna Hazare today slammed political parties for not giving farmers their due in their manifestos and urged the farming community to send its representatives to Parliament and the state Assemblies instead of electing people who seek votes in the name of political parties.

Addressing a meeting organised by Navnirman Krushak Sangathan, Hazare said that none of the political parties have said anything clearly about the farmers and their interests.

He said he would travel across the country for the next five years to create awareness among people, mostly farmers, to fight for their rights.

He also criticised the party system in the democracy citing it as unconstitutional and the cause of corruption. He wished for farmers’ representation that would help solve farmers’ problems. “There will be around 100 to 150 representatives of farmers in Parliament in 2019. And this will prevent corrupt and anti-social elements from entering Parliament and assemblies on party tickets,” said the activist.

Around 4,000 people from various parts of the state had gathered at Lower PMG, where the meeting was organised. People were seen enthusiastically waiting for Hazare.

Citing this meeting as a device to change the system unlike those organised by political parties, he said that power change hands but the fate of farmers remain the same. No one pays attention to farmers and their interests. Besides, he said that his next move would be to fight for the voters’ right to reject, right to recall and powers to the gram sabha. These things will empower the common man.

“The movement we are going to start is ‘Jai Kishan’ and it will spread to all parts of the country and its foundation was laid today in Bhubaneswar,” said Hazare.

Magsaysay award winner social activist Rajendra Singh Rane also criticised the state government for its faulty policy of providing land, water, forest and other things to industries instead of doing anything for the farmers. Rane is now working for the farming sector in Rajasthan.

He said that unlike Rajasthan, Odisha had been gifted with good rain and better river systems, but the government here has been diverting all the water to industries instead of providing it for agriculture purposes. “I have spoken to the chief minister here several times on this issue, but he did not respond to me properly. All the major river water here have been contaminated and polluted or diverted for industrial purposes. The government here shows dreams to people promising that industries will develop the state, but it will reap bad results in the future,” said Rane.

He also criticised the BJD manifesto released few days ago saying that though it speaks about farmers, it does not raise the exact problems faced by the farming community.