Who is the best Chief Minister in India? This oft-repeated question always surfaces in a political discussion. And there are some names that always feature in the list of best CMs. Nitish Kumar who restored law and order in an otherwise lawless Bihar is one such name. Devendra Fadnavis who is doing a lot to bring relief to the drought-stricken areas of Maharashtra is another. Chandrababu Naidu also features very high on this list. But there is one that stands apart. In fact he has set such high standards for his contemporaries that it is almost impossible for anyone to beat him. Already being considered the heir to PM Modi’s throne, a perfect combination of X-factor and substance, Yogi Adityanath is an institution in himself.
Barely a few months had passed since CM Yogi Adityanath assumed the post of the Chief Minister for one of the most vibrant and powerful states of India, Uttar Pradesh, when a series of protests rocked the capital Lucknow.
Allegedly, the potato farmers had suffered losses in their crops and to add to their woes, they were allegedly not paid adequate compensation by the concerned government. Led by the former ruling party of UP government, Samajwadi Party, the protesters surrounded the Vidhan Bhawan, throwing tons of potatoes on the road and calling for the CM Yogi to intervene in this matter.
A year later, it turns out that the protesters were barking up the wrong tree. In a series of tweets by Arvind Agrawal, who deals in the cold storage of potatoes and is an electronic engineer by profession, it has turned out that without creating any fanfare, CM Yogi has reversed the fortunes of the ailing farmers by leaps and bounds, something which has not gone down well with the opposition.
Before delving deeper into the Yogi government’s measures, let’s look into the issue in question: the condition of potato farmers. Lack of adequate income for farmers has been a serious issue for the Indian economy since independence. Farmers either get inadequate pay for their produce or don’t even receive the minimum support price for their crops, as prescribed by law. This problem has led to the farmers either selling their produce at a loss or just throwing it away.Political parties have come and gone, but hardly anyone took a concrete step towards the improvement of farmers. Interestingly, Akhilesh Yadav who has been one of the most vociferous voices in support of the protesting farmers led a full-term government and yet no step towards the improvement of farmers was taken up at all.
If there was any such provision, it was never implemented.However, with the coming of Yogi Government, such sectors which were on the brink of being completely destroyed got a new lease of life. Be it agriculture, or education, or even law and order, where this government has been outstanding in its conduct and administration so far. CM Yogi has been implementing a series of measures to aid the farmers since the very beginning when he took the risk of waiving off the loans of small time and medium scale farmers. Though it added a burden on the exchequer for a while, it was still a bold step very few leaders would have taken.
Long before these protests happened, Yogi Government had already declared the minimum support price for the potatoes at Rs. 686 per quintal, with an inclusive cost of Rs. 137 for transportation and warehousing. This came as a relief for the farmers, because the crops for the current year were much better than that of the previous year.
Not only this, the support price was also raised to Rs. 1150 per quintal which improved the conditions of the potato farmers ailing for the past 3 years. Following is an example of how the UP government has improved the situation considerably:-
पर जैसा कहा जाता है कि साहस ही सौभाग्य लाता है, आज का आलू का थोक बाजार का दाम 1150 रुपये प्रति क्विंटल हो गया है। सभी बाजार से जुड़े लोग जानते हैं कि कैसे समर्थन मूल्य की घोषणा ने बाजार को पंख लगा दिए।
अंत में आपको एक वीडियो के साथ छोड़ जाता हूँ जो मेरी बात की पुष्टि करेगा।
6/n pic.twitter.com/wG4rIhXxAi— Arvind Agarwal (@arvindagar) April 5, 2018
Here is further proof of the benefits brought by the reforms under Yogi government:-
2 अप्रैल की हाथरस के एक काश्तकार के सौदे की रसीद आपके समक्ष प्रस्तुत है। 761 रुपये प्रति पैकेट यानी 1522 रुपये प्रति कुंतल की दर से आलू के बिक्री हुई। ऐसे न जाने कितने ही सौदे इस समय आगरा मंडल में हो रहे हैं। देसी भाषा में, 3 साल से बेहाल किसान के दिन बहुर गए।
7/n pic.twitter.com/GG4Er92Dkj— Arvind Agarwal (@arvindagar) April 6, 2018
This demonstrates how the potato prices are improving, providing the much needed relief to farmers on their livelihood, something which no previous government in UP has even attempted for the past 27 years.
In a political environment, where politicians find it more convenient to quit on their promises rather than implement them effectively, it is very heartening to see a government led by a leader like CM Yogi Adityanath, who is actually living up to the promises he made during the elections in 2017. We only hope that his governance continues to flourish the way we’re seeing since March 2017.
When was the last time you saw farmers dancing like that? Does that settle the debate once and for all?
