BJP's peasant wing to train workers for reaching out to farmers

Seeking to propagate the "pro-farmer" policies of the Modi government, the Kisan Morcha of the BJP will start 'Kisan Samvad' (dialogue with farmers)under which it will train its volunteers who will fan out across the country to highlight the Centre's works, its chief Virendra Singh said today.

Speaking to reporters, Singh also said that some people have become supportive of genetically modified (GM) crops after being opposed to it earlier but their impact has to be assessed before the government decides on their future.

Singh said the Kisan Morcha will organise a training workshop for its volunteers from May 18-20 in Gurgaon. Singh is the BJP MP from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh.

Over 200 volunteers of the Kisan Morcha are expected to attend the event.

The move comes amid what opposition parties have described as "growing agrarian distress" in the country, including in some BJP-led states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The 2019 general election is less than a year away.

The volunteers, who will be trained in the workshop, will further pass on the knowledge to other volunteers at the state, district and block levels.

"The aim is that every village should have at least five volunteers of the Kisan Morcha who can explain people the pro-farmers policies of the Modi-government. Until now, no government has allocated nearly 52 per cent of its budget for farmers and villages as the Modi dispensation has done," he said.

Singh said another purpose of the exercise is to hold a dialogue with the farmers and understand their problem.

"This will also give an opportunity to dispel the lies spread by the opposition against the Modi government," Singh said.

He noted that engaging in dialogues is a good way of communication of reaching out to people in comparison to rallies and road shows as "it has its limitations".

Singh said he recently engaged in such dialogues with farmers in Belgaum, Dharwad and Tumkur areas of poll-bound Karnataka.

He added that the Kisan Morcha has been conducting programmes at the district level.

When asked about the GM crop issue, the Kisan Morcha president said many people are not satisfied with it while an equal number of people are satisfied.

Singh, who has opposed GM crops, said some people who were against it have started believing in it. "It has be to investigated whether GM is good or not. Some people who did not believe in the GM (crops) are now believing in it," he said.