MEWAT: Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday hit out at the BJP governments at the state and the Centre for their "anti-farmer policies ".Speaking at a farmers' mahapanchayat in Nuh 's Anaj Mandi, Hooda said that "the BJP government first hits the farmer in the stomach and then shoots them in the chest when they protest", in an apparent reference to the recent deaths of six people in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur.Over a thousand farmers from 400 villages in Mewat had gathered for the mahapanchayat organised by Congress. "The prices of paddy have crashed but the prices of rice have not come down, the prices of cotton have crashed but the prices of clothes have not come down, the prices of poplar have crashed but the prices of plywood continue to remain high, the prices of potatoes have crashed but the prices of potato chips continue to go up, prices of tomatoes have crashed while the prices of tomato sauce continue to rise," Hooda said.There are around 433 villages in Mewat and farming is one of the primary occupations in these villages. Being a backward district, the farmers have been battling poverty here."The Union government has imposed 18% goods and services tax on pesticides, which is a cause of worry for farmers as it increases the cost of the final produce," said Sulaiman, a farmer.The farmers also said that they were not paid the full price of their produces. "While the tomato is being sold for Rs 90 a kilo in the retail market, a farmer only gets 50 paise a kilo in the mandi. Similarly, they sell onion for Re 1 a kilo, while consumers buy it for Rs 60 a kilo. Why is there no profit for the farmers," questioned a farmer, who was present at the mahapanchayat.

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