‘Pro corporate’: Samyukt Kisan Morcha asks farmers to launch protest, ‘burn Union Budget copies’

New Delhi: Strongly criticizing the Union Budget, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said it signals the corporatization of agriculture and usurps the rights of state governments thus violating the basic concept of the federal character of the constitution of India.

SKM has appealed the farmers across India to carry out protests and burn copies of this anti-people and pro-corporate budget.

The budget prepared under the duress of International Finance Capital has declared a tax exemption of 5% for MNCs and is not ready to tax the Corporates and Super Rich. SKM said 67% of the GST is collected as indirect tax from 50% of the poor population.

There is no tax increase on Corporate Companies and any wealth tax and inheritance tax thus clearly revealing its anti-farmer, anti-worker class bias. This is not acceptable to the farmers of the country.

Long pending demand of MSP ignored

The Budget has neglected the long pending genuine demands of the farmers. SKM said the Finance Minister's claim that the government announced a higher Minimum Support Price a month ago for all major crops, delivering on the promise of at least a 50 percent margin over costs’ is untrue.

SKM asked the Finance Minister to come clean and issue a White Paper on MSP thus upholding the transparency and propriety in governance.

Loan Waiver ignored

Even though the RBI has transferred Rs.2, 10,874 crore as surplus to the Centre for the accounting year 2023-24, the Budget has cruelly neglected the long pending demand for comprehensive Loan Waiver to Farmers and Workers though as per the official records 31 farmers are committing suicide daily in India.

The Union Government had given Rs 14.46 lakh crore in debt waivers to corporate houses during the last ten years and is currently processing another Rs 10.2 lakh crore through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Share in agriculture declined

Out of the 48.25 lakh estimate of the Union Budget 2024-25 only Rs. 1, 51, 851 crore or a mere 3.15% is the share of the Agriculture and allied sector. The share of this sector has declined during the past Budget to 5.44% in the year 2019-20, 5.08% in 2020-21, 4.26% in 2021-22, and 3.23% in 2022-23.

The Budget did not repeal GST on farm inputs including seed, fertilizer, machinery, spare parts, and tractors thus helping the farmers to reduce the cost of production. This is the attitude of the Modi Government towards this important sector that sustains 45.76 % of the workforce and 58 % of the population. SKM has demanded a separate Budget for Agriculture and Rural Development with an adequate share of the Union Budget.

Crop failures on the rise

The Budget ignored one of the most important demands of replacing the failed PMFBY and NDRF with an insurance scheme in the Public Sector and also provides interest-free credit to farmers despite crop failures increasing in natural calamities due to Global warming.

The decision of taking 1 crore landed farmers out of 9.3 crore to natural farming is detrimental to increasing agricultural production and will create a food crisis. The cut in fertilizer subsidy has raised the cost of production and it will destroy the food security of the country paving the way for immense social calamity in the future as experienced by countries like Sri Lanka.

The announcements of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture to register land and crops and the National Cooperation Policy are aimed at encroaching on the rights of the State Governments since agriculture, land, and cooperation are the State subjects as per the Constitution of India. SKM stands for upholding the Constitutional provision of Cooperation as the State Subject and strongly demands to abolish the Union Ministry of Cooperation formed in 2019.

Contract farming promoted

The long-term objective of the Budget is promoting contract framing under the direct control of the Corporates and MNCs. The ICAR signed a Memorandum of Agreements with MNCs including Bayer and Syngenta working in the agribusiness and Research and Development sectors and the Finance Minister declared to provide funds to the private sector for the promotion of R&D are part of efforts to implement the Black Farm Acts through the rear doors.

SKM had demanded the Union Government to amend the GST Act and reinstate the right to taxation of the State Governments thus upholding the principle of Strong States: Strong Union of India. The negation of the right of the States for taxation and then practicing discrimination in fixing the share of allocation to the States has become a serious matter of political concern. The BJP and NDA are pitching the fund starving States against each other and appeasing certain States with irrational allocations to sustain in power, which is ruinous and dangerous and in the long run, will injure the national unity and cohesiveness of sustaining a federal structure respecting the diversity of various nationalities that constitute India.

Appeal to all state govt

SKM demands all the State Governments and all the political parties to take firm and clear positions on these serious issues and rally against the Modi Govt. demanding change in the policy of centralization of power to ensure taxation rights of the States, thus protecting the interests of the people and the country.

The Budget did not reflect the demands like minimum wage of Rs.26000 per month for workers that can support 90% of the workforce in the unorganized sector, recruitment in the existing 30 lakh plus vacancies in the Public Sector as well as Govt. Sector and wage hike to Rs.600 per day and minimum work of 200 days under NREGA. Instead of allocating MNREGS doubled, it has been reduced. The demand for linking MGNREGS with watershed planning and agricultural development is neglected. The wrong policy on MSP and MNREGA reveals that the Modi Govt. has no sincerity to revive agriculture and small production to end farmers’ suicide, distress migration, and the acute crisis of unemployment.

SKM strongly condemned the silence of the Finance Minister in her Budget speech about the serious issue of loss of crops and life due to the wildlife menace. The crop-wise demands such as clearing arrears of Sugar Cane farmers, declaring a Price Stabilisation Fund and support price of Rs. 250 per kilo for Rubber farmers, 100% import duty on Apple, market protection for Onion, Potato, and vegetable farmers, extending NREGA towards Dairy and Animal Husbandry sector, Market Price for Cattle and end stray cattle menace to crops and human life etc. also are not addressed in the Budget.

Appeal to all sections

SKM appeals for the widest unity of all sections including farmers, workers, women, youth, students, etc. as the need of the hour and all the people have to rally and build massive struggles across India to force the Modi Govt. to change the corporate policies and protect the interests of the people.

SKM has appealed to the farmers to launch protests across India in the villages and burn copies of this anti-people pro-corporate Budget. The details of the mode and date of the campaign and protest will be decided by the respective State Coordination Committees of the SKM.

The details of the mode and date of the campaign and protest will be decided by the respective State Coordination Committees of the SKM.