Battleground Afghanistan, a challenge for India

Apropos the editorial 'Farmers' worst fears coming true'. There is no rationale to draw a parallel between the ongoing farmers agitation, that is into a second year; and the present glut in agricultural products, like apple and tomato in the country which are not definitely failing to fetch decent returns to farmers. To justify the irrational agitation by the BKU and other farmer unions from Punjab and Haryana, despite government's unconditional efforts to engage in constructive and meaningfully dialogue with the sulking group that has not shown any positive results, as the stand taken by farmers is unrealistic and irrational, to be deviating from proposed farm laws; having no relevance to the problems faced by the farmers in the country, in various ways.

It is clear that the so called farmers' agitation is politically motivated to discredit the ruling NDA government at the Centre with vested interests at work, aligning with anti-national forces and other foreign agencies that are active in this regard.

The role of the pro-Khalistan forces living in Canada seems to be solidly behind this exercise, extending every kind of support that no self- respecting farmer will fall prey to . Sadly enough, the Opposition too is happy to come in support of the cause of agitating farmers, unasked; in their efforts to consolidate their political acumen comprising AAP, TMC, SP, Congress and the Left among others.

The Centre is determined however to improve the life and income of farmers in the country by ensuring decent and remunerative prices for the produce, in the next few years.

Glut in agricultural produce often leads to fall in the price, and farmers prove the worst entities to face the dilemma. This precisely is the reason that the Centre is serious about more and more cold storage units to be opened in different parts of the country to stock the produce to fetch better price later; and by encouraging food processing units established in the country to take advantage of the situation which means value addition to an agricultural produce to pave the way for employment generation and self-employment opportunities for different sectors engaged in food processing industry in the country.

K R Parvathy, Mysuru