Gujarat Congress 'Khedut Aakrosh Yatra' to demand farmer loan waivers, crop-loss package

The Gujarat Congress will flag off ‘Khedut Aakrosh Yatra’ on November 6 from Talala in Gir-Somnath district, covering 11 Saurashtra districts and culminating in Dwarka on November 13.

The yatra is a direct response to massive crop damage caused by unseasonal rains, with the party demanding a special relief package and 100% farm-loan waiver. The yatra will pass through Gir-Somnath, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Surendranagar, Morbi, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Porbandar. Senior leaders, including Tushar Chaudhary, Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil, MP Geniben Thakor and three district-level Congress functionaries from each area, will visit fields to document farmers’ losses.

Patan MLA Kirit Patel has also written to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, pledging to surrender two months salary if the government announces a complete loan waiver.

Rajya Sabha MP and former Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee President Shaktisinh Gohil slammed the BJP regime for keeping Gujarat out of the national crop-insurance scheme. “If Congress governments in Karnataka and Telangana can deposit ₹16,000–₹18,000 per acre directly into farmers’ accounts, why can’t Gujarat waive-off farmers loans”.

State Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani announced that groundnut procurement at (MSP) Minimum Support Price will start on November 9, with urad, moong and soybean to follow. Farmers will receive delivery slots via SMS.