Even as the stir entered its third day on Saturday, the YC members declined to call off their hunger strike maintaining that the stir will continue till the demands are fulfilled.
The agitators also threatened that the stir will be intensified in coming days.
“Since the state government is taking no steps to fulfill our demands on better compensation for the farmers, we have decided to intensify our stir. Our workers will resort to relay strike in front of the collectorates across the state on 3 January, which will be followed by similar agitation in front of all the block offices on 7 January,” said MP, Nawarangpur and president of Orissa Pradesh Youth Congress (OPYC) Pradeep Majhi.
In the meantime, the Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD), the youth wing of the ruling BJD said that the Congress workers, instead of agitating here, should sit in a dharna in New Delhi to draw the attention of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other Central leaders.
“The Congress workers are shedding crocodile tears. If they were really concerned with the plight of the farmers of the state, they would have persuaded the Union government to assist the state in ameliorating the condition of the farmer,” said MLA, Brahmagiri and convener of BYJD, Mr. Sanjay Das Verma.
Meanwhile, the Union minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers, Srikant Jena has drawn the attention of PM Dr. Manmohan Singh to the strike called by the Youth Congress the farmers in the state and exhorted him to intervene.