RSS' outfit to protest on Tue for MP's rain-affected farmers

The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh will hold a protest in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal on Tuesday as it accused the Kamal Nath government of ignoring farmers who suffered crop and property damage during heavy rains this season, a functionary said on Sunday.

Madhya Pradesh had one of the most robust monsoons this year with rainfall being 30 per cent in excess of the annual average.

"Kharif (July-October sowing season) crops were destroyed due to heavy rains. We submitted memorandums to the administration demanding compensation but the state government has done nothing in the past two months," BKS state chief Rambharose Basotiya and secretary Mahesh Choudhary told reporters here.

"We will organise a one-day dharna on Tuesday. We want the government to give relief to rain-affected farmers and waive off loans of Rs 2 lakh as announced earlier," Choudhary said.

The BKS leaders claimed farmers had become loan defaulters with banks as they stopped repayment after the state government announced the waiver.

"But the state government failed to keep the promise and now banks are not giving credit to farmers due to non- payment of old loans," the BKS leaders said.