New Delhi (Sputnik) — Indian farmers have warned of stronger agitation if their demands for a waiver of loans and the implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission are not made at the earliest.
The Swaminathan Commission was formed in 2004 by the government of India to find solutions to the problems faced by farmers. Consequently, the commission made a number of recommendations, but the government is yet to implement them.
The protests are most active in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and the central states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhatisgarh.
Some farmers have complained that the organizers of the protest forcefully confiscated their produce and threw them on the streets.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has stirred up controversy by remarking that the farmers are doing what they are doing to hog the media limelight.
"There are around 12 to 14 crore farmers in the country. It is normal for any farmer's organizations to have one to two thousand farmers and they are doing to get the media attention," Minister Radha Mohan Singh was quoted by local media as saying.