Farmer leader Raju Shetti on the warpath over FRP payment to sugarcane farmers; stages protest in Pune
The Hindu
The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president said farmers will stop the crushing and harvesting of cane if sugar mill owners fail to meet their demands
Hitting out at the BJP-ruled centre and State governments, farmer leader and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti on Monday staged a protest before the Sugar Commissionerate in Pune demanding that the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane farmers be paid at one go instead of two instalments.
Accusing sugar mill owners of defrauding farmers, Mr. Shetti further demanded the payment of an extra ₹350 per tonne over and above the FRP of this year and an additional ₹200 per tonne over and above last year’s FRP as compensation for farmers.
“If the mills fail to agree to our demands, then we will stop the crushing and harvesting of cane,” warned Mr. Shetti, a former two-time MP from Hatkanangale in Kolhapur.
He observed that the mills were in better financial health owing to high sugar prices this season and should not have any difficulty in paying farmers their dues.
Once an ally of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, Mr. Shetti, who has now fallen out with both political entities, is attempting to rejuvenate his base among farmers.
A former ally of the BJP-led NDA, Mr. Shetti had severed ties with the saffron party in 2017 to join hands with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Congress – his erstwhile bête noire in the ‘sugar heartland’ of western Maharashtra – ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
However, the alliance proved costly as Mr. Shetti was defeated by Shiv Sena’s Dhairyasheel Mane, who is now in the Eknath Shinde camp.
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