Tikait-led farmers team meets Pawar
Addressing concerns: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait addressing a mahapanchayat of farmers at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday. Bharat Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait on Wednesday led a high-power delegation of farmers' representatives from various States to meet Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar. The delegation sought relief from debts for farmers and higher minimum support price for wheat and paddy. "If the government is giving a tax holiday to Special Economic Zones, then why should there not be debt relief for farmers who are responsible for the food security of the country?' the delegation asked the Minister. Separately, an all-party delegation from Karnataka comprising, among others, Union Ministers K.H. Muniyappa, M.V. Rajashekaran, Oscar Fernandes, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha K. Rahman Khan and the former Minister, Ananth Kumar, met Mr. Pawar. They sought payment of sugarcane arrears to farmers and a higher statutory minimum price for sugarcane. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Tikait said they had asked for a loan waiver, higher remunerative prices and MSP for commodities. "The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices must take into account the lease amount/cost of farm land farmers own and their families' labour input while computing MSP. It should include 50 per cent profit so that the farmers have some income in hand.' Mr. Tikait said the delegation