The Crossbill News Desk
The Gujarat government’s recently announced Rs 10,000-crore agricultural relief package, aimed at supporting farmers affected by unseasonal rains, has triggered widespread discontent across party lines, with even voices from within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioning its effectiveness and fairness, The New Indian Express reported.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had described the relief package as a “lifeline” for over 42 lakh farmers hit by what he termed “unprecedented monsoon rains that have not occurred in Gujarat in the past two decades.”
According to Gujarat Samachar, nearly 42 lakh hectares of farmland across 16,000 villages were impacted, with extensive crop losses reported in Saurashtra and central Gujarat. Crops such as groundnut, soybean, and paddy were among the worst affected, as torrential rains washed away standing crops and left fields waterlogged.
However, the government’s response has come under sharp criticism from both opposition parties and farmer organisations aligned with the BJP’s ideological wing.
The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), which is affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has dismissed the package as grossly inadequate and lacking transparency.
State general secretary R.K. Patel said that the compensation figures bear no resemblance to the actual ground situation.
“It is unclear on what basis this relief has been calculated. The amount announced is nothing compared to the actual losses suffered by farmers,” Patel was quoted as saying.
He further pointed out that the average farmer investment per hectare ranges between Rs 18,000 and Rs 28,000—far higher than the relief amount offered.
Patel also criticised the government’s uniform approach to compensation, questioning why farmers who lost 25% of their crops were being treated the same as those who lost everything.
Warning of agitation if the concerns are ignored, he added, “If the government calls this a historic package, then what exactly has reached the farmer’s hand?”
The dissent is not confined to farmer groups. BJP leader Chetan Malani, former general secretary of Savarkundla taluka and director of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Amreli district, resigned from all party positions in protest, calling the relief announcement “a cruel joke on farmers.” In his resignation letter, Malani accused the government of displaying “lavish indifference” toward cultivators devastated by unseasonal rains, saying that the announced aid “does not even touch the scale of farmers’ losses,” according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has launched an aggressive attack on the state government over the issue. Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda accused the BJP of “mocking the pain of farmers while claiming generosity.”
He alleged that farmers in Gujarat carry average debts of Rs 56,000 each and warned that the Congress would join street protests if the state failed to waive farm loans.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had described the relief package as a “lifeline” for over 42 lakh farmers hit by what he termed “unprecedented monsoon rains that have not occurred in Gujarat in the past two decades.”
According to Gujarat Samachar, nearly 42 lakh hectares of farmland across 16,000 villages were impacted, with extensive crop losses reported in Saurashtra and central Gujarat. Crops such as groundnut, soybean, and paddy were among the worst affected, as torrential rains washed away standing crops and left fields waterlogged.
However, the government’s response has come under sharp criticism from both opposition parties and farmer organisations aligned with the BJP’s ideological wing.
The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), which is affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has dismissed the package as grossly inadequate and lacking transparency.
State general secretary R.K. Patel said that the compensation figures bear no resemblance to the actual ground situation.
“It is unclear on what basis this relief has been calculated. The amount announced is nothing compared to the actual losses suffered by farmers,” Patel was quoted as saying.
He further pointed out that the average farmer investment per hectare ranges between Rs 18,000 and Rs 28,000—far higher than the relief amount offered.
Patel also criticised the government’s uniform approach to compensation, questioning why farmers who lost 25% of their crops were being treated the same as those who lost everything.
Warning of agitation if the concerns are ignored, he added, “If the government calls this a historic package, then what exactly has reached the farmer’s hand?”
The dissent is not confined to farmer groups. BJP leader Chetan Malani, former general secretary of Savarkundla taluka and director of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Amreli district, resigned from all party positions in protest, calling the relief announcement “a cruel joke on farmers.” In his resignation letter, Malani accused the government of displaying “lavish indifference” toward cultivators devastated by unseasonal rains, saying that the announced aid “does not even touch the scale of farmers’ losses,” according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has launched an aggressive attack on the state government over the issue. Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda accused the BJP of “mocking the pain of farmers while claiming generosity.”
He alleged that farmers in Gujarat carry average debts of Rs 56,000 each and warned that the Congress would join street protests if the state failed to waive farm loans.
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