Arecanut growers of Shivamogga have accused BJP government at the Centre of neglecting arecanut.
Credit: DH Photo
Shivamogga: District Arecanut Growers’ Association president Ramesh Hegde urged that Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan attending the arecanut farmers’ convention in Sagar on Saturday should officially declare that arecanut is not carcinogenic.
Addressing media persons here on Thursday, Hegde said people in Malnad feel that the Union Minister was coming to Sagar to offer another false promise to arecanut farmers in the wake of the MAMCOS (The Malnad Areca Marketing Co-operative Society Ltd) elections.
“Previously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister had visited the district during the elections and misled farmers with false statements regarding arecanut. Shivraj Singh Chauhan should not continue this tradition this time,” Hegde said.
‘Promises not kept’
During the 2014 elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to protect the dignity of arecanut. In the 2018 assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the establishment of an arecanut research centre in Tirthahalli at a cost of Rs 500 crore but both promises have turned out to be false, Hegde said.
He said BJP’s Union Minister Anupriya Patel and J P Nadda gave written statements in the Parliament claiming that consuming arecanut causes cancer. A BJP MP from Jharkhand had even written to the central government to ban arecanut. Thus, the entire BJP family has tarnished the reputation of arecanut.
“Now, are they trying to restore its dignity through the convention,” he questioned.
‘Arecanut neglected’
Hegde said since the BJP came to power, arecanut has been completely neglected. Prominent BJP leaders have publicly stated that arecanut was harmful to health. Arecanut smuggled from Sri Lanka and Bhutan entered the country, causing a drop in prices for locally grown arecanut. The central government has remained silent without preventing the illegal entry of arecanut into the country. Arecanut from Indonesia has also reached the Shivamogga market, he charged.
“For arecanut to truly gain respect, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan must clarify at the upcoming convention in Sagar that arecanut is not harmful and does not cause cancer. Everyone organising the convention should press for this statement,” he insisted.
Congress leaders Ikkeri Ramesh, G D Manjunath, Niranjan, and Dharmappa were present at the press conference.