DNA Edit: Gathering storm – The second long march by farmers bodes ill for govt

Agrarian distress in Maharashtra has become a routine affair, wrecking the lives and livelihoods of lakhs of families whose fate is tied to the land. The farmers’ march to Mumbai – the second such show of protest by tribals, landless agriculturalists, and small farmers who are the most marginal and vulnerable sections – recasts the spotlight on the government’s inability to address the ills plaguing the agricultural sector. The ruling combine has fallen back on the populist measure of loan waiver, which merely puts a lid over the angst of the farming community. Those participating in the march have been reduced to penury; even then their mode of protest has been peaceful. Whether it will stir the conscience of the political class to initiate long-term policy measures – the walk undertaken by over 5,0000 protesters culminates at the state legislative assembly in Mumbai on February 27 – is anyone’s guess. 

This being the year when Maharashtra will witness both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, political parties will do only that much to stave off a backlash. In March 2018 when a similar peaceful protest march, organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (All Indian Farmers Association) and attended by thousands of farmers, agricultural labourers, and tribals reached Mumbai, a rattled Devendra Fadnavis had announced that all the major demands of farmers had been accepted and would be fulfilled in six months. Clearly, that has not been the case. These desperate people are demanding immediate relief in view of the impending drought. Plus, there are issues of irrigation, land rights, minimum support price, and a crop insurance scheme. The Sena-BJP combine needs to address these issues immediately if they wish to return to power in the state.