Lok Sabha polls: Congress' Kuldeep Singh Rathore raises plight of apple farmers in Himachal

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], April 9 : Congress leader Kuldeep Singh Rathore pointed out that the plight of apple farmers going to be a big issue in Lok Sabha Elections in the state.
The Congress legislator from apple bowl of Theog area of Shimla and the AICC spokesperson, Kuldeep Singh Rathore, said that the farmers are in distress due to the import of foreign apples.
"We are facing big losses and we are heading towards an economic disaster. I had earlier raised it in the Assembly too. The big reason is the import of apples, which is entering India through routes of Afghanistan due to the trade agreement with Afghanistan and there is no import duty imposed on it. We have raised the issues with the assembly and with the Union governments but nothing has been done so far in the matter. It is resulting in a loss of three times the price of apples," he said.
The apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh are demanding the Union government to increase import duty on apple to India to 100 per cent. The Parliamentary Constituencies of Mandi and Shimla cover the majority of apple farming areas.
"During the previous elections, the Prime Minister had promised to increase the import duty from 50 per cent to 100 but instead it was brought down to 30 per cent. I shall take up this issue in the elections and it is going to be a big issue in the elections. We have two issues in it: one is illegal import and the other is the reduction in import duty," Kuldeep Singh Rathore added.
The apple farmers believe that both Congress and the BJP have been deceiving them and have not fulfilled their demand. These farmers are going to vote on this issue this year.
Kuldeep Singh Rathore also pointed out that they have been seeking support from the Centre but have not done anything about it.
"There are 44 countries from which apples are imported into India. We have been seeking support from the Government of India to increase imports but they have not done it. If it could be increased to 100 per cent for tea and coffee, why can't it be increased on apples?" he said.
Kuldeep Singh said that increase in import duty can curb the illegal import, which is entering under South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) through other countries.
"This import has badly hit the prices of the apples in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir," said Rathore.
An apple farmer, Harish Chauhan said, "Certainly this would be an issue in elections, the people in Mandi and Shimla are mainly apple producing areas and farmers and SKM would hold a meeting and make it a national issue and will take it to the people in elections."
Notably, elections to the four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh and bypolls to the six assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs and their eventual switch to the BJP will be held on June 1.