Irabot Foundation Manipur (IFM) on Tuesday cautioned the government that farmers will not participate in the election campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha election unless special packages for the farmers are delivered.
IFM president Kh Gopen Luwang told the media at Manipur Press Club, Majorkhul, Imphal that farmers should not participate in all sorts of election campaigns for the upcoming Lok Sabha election though they can cast their votes.
For the last 11 months, people across Manipur have been suffering and facing untold miseries due to the ongoing crisis; even some are still struggling to get essential commodities, he said.
Due to the present crisis, various sectors have been affected including agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, veterinary, fishery and others.
For the agriculture sector, the state government has already given the compensation, however, the government has been failing to give any compensation for the remaining sectors. Besides the Agriculture sector, various other sectors were affected by the unrest, he mentioned. The IFM is disappointed by the neglect shown towards other sectors by the government, he added.
He appealed to the state government to provide compensation for other sectors that have been affected by the crisis.
The farmers have been suffering before the present crisis but by sidelining their grievances, the political parties are using farmers as their vote banks at the time of election, he alleged. The politicians should avoid using farmers as their vote banks during the time of election, Gopen said.
