New Delhi: The Congress on Friday claimed that Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan evaded a direct reply to the question on whether the government will introduce a legal guarantee for MSP, and took a swipe at him, saying all that the minister accomplished was “delivering a jalebi”.
Opposition parties led by the Congress created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha, as they were not satisfied with Chouhan’s reply on providing a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) to farmers for crops.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said that in the Rajya Sabha, the Union agriculture minister was asked a direct and straightforward question on whether the government will introduce a legal guarantee for MSP as being demanded by farmer organisations.
“For almost 30 minutes, he stonewalled and went round and round in order to avoid answering the question. Legal guarantee for MSP for rice, wheat and other agri-produce was the issue. All that the minister accomplished was delivering a jalebi,” he said.
Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala said today is a “black day’ for farmers in India.
“The sinister conspiratorial face of the (Narendra) Modi government got exposed as the agriculture minister of India stated that they would never frame a law guaranteeing MSP to 72 crore farmers and farm labourers in India,” he alleged.
“Today, the conspiracy and design of the Modi government got exposed as the agriculture minister refused C2+50 per cent profit as MSP for the farmers of India. C2 is input costs, family labour, and rent of land of the farmer. Modi ji had promised 50 per cent profit, but the government refused,” Surjewala claimed.
“The agriculture minister admits that all they are doing is politics by holding 35–40 meetings of the committee constituted at the instance of the agitating farmers in July 2022,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed that the minister admitted that in two years, the committee has “done nothing”.
“So, it is very clear that the Modi government has backstabbed the farmers of India by saying that — they will not frame MSP as a law and they will not give C2+50 per cent as MSP in accordance with the report of the Swaminathan commission,” Surjewala said.
In his reply to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Chouhan said the government has set up a panel on MSP and would consider the recommendations once the report is submitted.
“I would like to state that serving farmers for us is like worshipping God,” he said, and asserted that there is no bigger well-wisher of farmers than Prime Minister Modi.
Chouhan said the panel has been formed to give suggestions to make the MSP system more effective and transparent.
In addition, he said, the committee has been asked to examine the feasibility of giving greater autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and ways to make it more scientific.
To ensure higher prices of crops for farmers, a mandate has also been given to the committee to suggest steps for strengthening the agricultural marketing system in line with the changing needs of the country. This committee is also working on issues like natural farming and crop diversification, the minister said.
The meetings of this committee are being organised regularly. Since July 22, 2022, and the committee has met six times. Thirty-five meetings of various sub-committees have also been held.
“Whenever the panel submits its report, the government will examine it,” Chouhan said.
On the question of whether the government wants to give a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers or not, the minister said it is continuously working towards farmers’ welfare.
The MSP rates have been increased regularly to give proper prices to farmers, he added.
The agriculture minister informed that the government has a six-pronged strategy to give appropriate MSP to farmers.
