Opposition BJP staged three-hour protests at farmlands across the state from 8am on Friday, denouncing the Hemant Soren government for not honouring its promises and duping farmers.

The saffron camp alleged that despite a record harvest of paddy crops amid the Covid-19 pandemic last year, hundreds of farmers were forced to sell their produce at throw away prices and those who sold stocks at government run procurement centres were still to be paid.

State party president and Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash along with Kanke MLA Samri Lal and other party workers staged a protest in Sukurhuttu. Other MLAs, MPs and party workers did so in various parts of the state with banners and posters decrying the Hemant government's policies.

"The state’s annadata (farmer) is at the rossroads today because of sustained apathy and false promises of the Hemant government. They toiled hard to produce a record output during the last kharif season but several of them are battling a crisis of money because of government apathy. For crops sold at minimum support centres, farmers are yet to receive payments," he said.

BJP workers during the protest meet at Sukurhuttu in Kanke on Saturday. The Telegraph picture

The party also questioned the state government on loan waivers. “What happened to the state government’s loan waiver scheme which it prmised to implement soon after coming to power? A majority of farmers are are still to be benefitted,” he said, boasting how the "pro-farmer" Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was transferring money four times a year under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

The Congress, which is part of the ruling JMM-led coalition government in Jharkhand, hit back at the BJP for using farmers as "political pawns".

Citing the ongoing farmers' protests along Delhi borders against contentious farm laws, Congress’s national general secretary and Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey said, “BJP MLAs and MPs of the state must stage protests outside the PM's office in Delhi if they are so serious about farmers. Several farmers have died in the last one year fighting for their existence ... but no one said anything about it. BJP has no moral right to talk about farmers.”

State agriculture minister Badal Pratralekh cited figures to counter the BJP' allegations on loan waivers. “As on date, out of 9.02 lakh identified farmers eligible for waivers up to Rs 50,000, we have disbursed funds of Rs 980 crore to banks for writing off loans to 2,46,012 farmers. For theremaining, the process is underway,” he said.

He also said that for the first time ever, the state government began distributing kharif seeds to farmers in May even before the arrival of the monsoon. “Out of a target of 44,000 quintal seeds, we have already distributed more than 68 per cent despite the pandemic,” he said.