SP walks out of U.P. Vidhan Parishad over farmers’ issue, govt counter attacks

Raising the issue through adjournment motion, SP members alleged govt had done nothing for the farmers in last eight years

Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday staged a walkout in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) while accusing the government of doing nothing to address to plight of farmers and stray cattle menace in the state even as the government countered the allegations with facts and figures accusing the opposition party of shedding crocodile tears over the issue.

The U.P. government countered the allegations with facts and figures. (For Representation)

Raising the issue through the adjournment motion, SP members Lal Bihari Yadav, Balram Yadav, Rajendra Chaudhary, Shahnawaz Khan, Man Singh Yadav and others alleged that the government had done nothing in last eight years to improve the condition of farmers despite its promise to double their income.

They claimed while the farmers’ expenses had increased on one hand, their income was stagnant due to government’s apathy on the other. The SP members said stray cattle were ruining farmers’ crops to the extent that their losses in this way were much more than what they got as the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Replying to the allegation. Leader of the House Keshav Prasad Maurya said the government was working on a three-pronged strategy--reducing the production cost, increasing productivity and ensuring fare price for farmers’ produce to enhance their income.

On the issue of stray cattle, Maurya alleged that during the SP rule, smuggling and slaughter of cows was a routine affair in the state while the Yogi government was conserving them.

He said the SP goons encroached farmers’ land before 2017 and now the BJP government was getting that land freed. Not satisfied with the government’s response, all SP members walked out of the House, shouting anti-government slogans.