Kurukshetra, Jun 8 (PTI) Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda on Thursday said the Haryana government should accept farmers' demand and give them MSP for sunflower seeds.

The senior leader extended his full support to the farmers' sit-in protest at Anaj Mandi at Ladwa Road in Shahabad by visiting the site and assuring all help.

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Addressing the protesters, Deepender said the demands of the farmers are justified and that they should get a minimum support price (MSP) for sunflower seeds.

He also condemned the lathicharge on protesting farmers in Shahabad on Tuesday.

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Farmers were protesting peacefully for the demand to sell their produce, "but the whole country is ashamed to see the way the Haryana government has used police brutality to deal with them", Hooda said.

The Congress' Rajya Sabha MP demanded that the cases filed against the farmers should be withdrawn, the arrested farmers should be released immediately and those injured in the lathi charge should be treated at the government's expense.

The farmers led by Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni blocked the national highway near Shahabad on Tuesday for over six hours. The police used water cannons and resorted to lathi charge to disperse them.

Later, nine leaders of BKU (Charuni), including its president, were arrested under various charges, including rioting and unlawful assembly.

Deepender said the lathi charge in Shahabad "is a symbol of the anti-farmer face of the government".

"The stick is the symbol of the Haryana government's system. This government is humiliating every class in Haryana, and we have cruel rulers in power in Haryana today. This government has broken every promise made to the farmers," he alleged.

"Earlier, the government had promised to double the income of the farmer by 2022 but broke the promise. The income did not double, expenditure on input prices doubled.

"This government turned out to be so anti-farmer that it brought three agricultural laws, in which the very concept of MSP was getting demolished. It was the first such movement in the history of independent India which went on for so long, was so widespread and 750 farmers had to sacrifice their lives," he said.

The Congress leader said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government has fixed Rs 6,400 per quintal as MSP of sunflower seeds.

"But due to the non-commencement of government procurement, private buyers are buying sunflowers at the rate of Rs 3,500-3,800 per quintal in the market.

"The farmers talked to the government on many occasions, yet the procurement did not start, and the government kept giving date after date. After this, the government said that sunflower would be included in the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana.

"Even if it is assumed that the farmer will get Rs 1,000 per quintal over the price they get after selling to private buyers, even then also the farmer will suffer a loss of Rs 1,900-2,200 per quintal," he said.

It is sad that farmers have to resort to an agitation for MSP as the government is not listening to them, the Congress leader added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)