Politicking over sugarcane pricing spilled outside Parliament on Thursday with agitating farmers from western Uttar Pradesh swarming Parliament Street and Jantar Mantar, and Opposition leaders cutting across the political divide making the most of it. BJP’s Arun Jaitley, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, CPM’s Basudeb Acharia, CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta and D Raja and a couple of AIADMK MPs all shared the dais after the Lok Sabha was adjourned and attacked the UPA government for being “anti-farmer”.

Waving sugarcanes, the farmers had gathered under three banners—Ajit Singh-led RLD, Bharatiya Kisan Union of Mahendra Singh Tikait and Rahstriya Kishan Mazdoor Sanghatan. It was, however, the RLD backed gathering which attracted the politicians.

With Ajit Singh threatening to block supplies to Delhi if the demands of the sugarcane farmers were not met, the gathered farmers too expressed aggression. “The mills will not get sugarcane if we don’t get the price. We will burn our cane instead of succumbing,” said Shishpal Singh from Bijnore.

Sensing the anger among farmers, Amar Singh targeted Rahul Gandhi. Singh wondered whether Rahul had any idea about how sugarcane is grown. “Rahul is very much concerned for poor. Instead of sleeping in the houses of the poor, he should see the root cause of problem. Poverty is not eradicated just by sleeping in their houses,” he said.

“We are not here for begging, we are here to demand our right price,” thundered Rishipal Singh from Bharot in Baghpat who grows sugarcane in over 30 bighas. He is not willing to sell his cane at the Rs 130/quintal fixed by the Centre. The farmers said that though the mill owners were informally ready to pay a higher price, they want it on paper. “Price should be mentioned on purchase slips. In 2007-08 we lost Rs 15 per quintal because the mills went to court and got the prices reduced citing various reasons,” Rishipal said as others seconded.

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