Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana (SSS), based in sugar rich Kolhapur district of Maharashtra has emerged as the organised voice of farming community of the state. Founded by Raju Shetti, this organisation has occupied a center stage in Maharashtra politics today.
Shetti’s first serious challenge to Sharad Pawar was before the general election in 2009. His Swabhimani Paksha party, which was set up that very year, defeated the NCP’s Nivedita Mane by 95,000 votes despite a severe fund crunch.
But on November 29, 2013 Shetti, who has been spearheading the agitation of the sugarcane farmers for a better purchase price for their produce, was booked for alleged attempt of murder and dacoity.
The agitation under the banner of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana turned violent last month with the protesters damaging 61 buses and setting one ablaze in the three districts. Though the agitation mainly remained confined to Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, sporadic violence like burning of sugarcane and stone pelting were reported from some rural areas of Solapur and Pune districts.
The Karad taluka police station has booked Shetti, his colleague Sadabhau Khot and others under Section 307 of IPC for the alleged attempt of murder and Section 395 of IPC for dacoity. Besides Shetti, the police have registered cases against 113 activists in connection with alleged rioting, stone pelting and unlawful assembly in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and Solapur districts during the last week of violent protests. Calling off a rather violent agitation that had virtually paralysed the sugarcane growing belt of Western Maharashtra, Shetti announced that the Sanghtana had settled for a MSP of Rs.2,650. In an exclusive interaction with TSI, Shetti explains the reason behind this move.
Excerpts:
After organising the 48-hour-bandh in the sugar belt of Maharashtra you suddenly called off the agitation. What prompted you to do this?
I had called off the agitation mid-way because I got inputs that the Congress and the NCP had hatched up a conspiracy to trigger riots to break the farmers’ agitation and implicate our organisation Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana (SSS) which was fighting for the interest of the farmers. A similar thing had happened in the 1980s when tobacco growers of Nippani, a place close to Kolhapur, were shot dead. These farmers of Nippani were agitating for remunerative prices for their tobacco and an end to the system of middlemen for over three weeks. The police started firing after the tobacco growers in the villages around Nipani successfully continued the “rasta-roko” movement on the Bangalore-Pune national highway for about 24 days.
I had come to know through my network that there were plans to create law and order problem and then indulge in police firing like Nippani and then give a bad name to our organisation and the agitating farmers. I did not want to endanger the lives of farmers. Hence, I called off the stir temporarily.
But why do you think that they should resort to this sort of thing to break the farmers agitation?
This is because elections are round the corner. They do not want me to emerge stronger. They are afraid that if it happens then they could end up losing 8-10 Lok Sabha seats. I came to understand that they had conspired to infiltrate a few goonda elements in our organisation whose job will be to create law and order problem so that they can pin the blame on the farmers. This was clearly a conspiracy to suppress the farmers agitation. They had also stoked the riots of Sangli and Miraj on similar lines.
The state government has directed your organisation Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana to pay Rs.2.25 crore as penalty for the damage caused during last year’s agitation led by your organisation for better sugarcane purchase price. What is your stand?
This is totally unjust and unfair. They themselves trigger riots and then implicate us and then ask us to pay the damages. They are also using Income Tax authorities to harass me even though I am only a farmer. The other day I got a call from a senior income tax officer asking whether I had filed my tax returns knowing very well that I am only a farmer. Why don’t they ask the sugar barons of Maharashtra whether they are paying tax properly or not? They are using the government machinery to blackmail me. I do not have any payable income but still I file my returns regularly.
You also mentioned that withdrawal of agitation was a ‘temporary’ move and that the final call will be taken on January 1. What is going to be the nature of your second phase of agitation?
It will be a stronger one. We will stop the functioning of the offices of district magistrates. I would not like to reveal what we will do but we will certainly agitate strongly.
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Bitter Sweet Truth about Sugar IndustryYou had sought that sugar mills give cane farmers Rs.3,000 per ton as first advance for their produce. But the Sadashivrao Mandalik Cooperative Sugar Factory, Kagal has agreed to pay only Rs.2,650 per ton. Are the farmers satisfied?
It is true that our demand was for Rs.3,000 per ton. But we knew that government will not agree to this amount and we will have to settle for some lesser amount.
You also recently met the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and discussed this issue. What was his response?
I told the Chief Minister that this issue should be settled at the earliest as the farmers are losing their patience.
The Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said that you launch agitations only in those places where the sugar factories are working properly but not in places like Vidarbha where many of the industries are not working. What is your take?
If Ajit Pawar has so much soft corner for the farmers of Vidarbha, then let him lead an agitation against the sugar factories of Vidarbha taking my supporters. I do not have any problem.
You have been a staunch opponent of Sharad Pawar. What is the reason for your antipathy?
In my college days I was a great admirer of Sharad Pawar. But when I grew up and understood him properly, I realised who he really was and my admiration slowly changed to antipathy.
