Shiromani Akali Dal Wednesday welcomed the decision of the Union cabinet to hike the minimum support price of wheat byRs 105 per quintal toRs 1,840 per quintal.
In a statement here, former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said the decisionreflects the PrimeMinister's concern for farmers.
He saidthat the peasantry in the country was going through an extreme crisisand needed the nation to come to its aid.
"Far from being a lucrativeprofession which it once was, farming has become a sure guaranteefor indebtedness and bankruptcy. This needs to change if the countrymen are to remain secure from the scourge of famines.
The costs ofinputs have been rising andit requires a corresponding hike in theprices of farm products especially foodgrains and vegetables," said Badal.
Badal said that the state government in Punjab should try to emulatethe SAD-BJP government which had initiated path-breaking measuresto help farmers such as free power to the farm sector, major hikein compensation for damage to crops, farm insurance policies and special assistnce to farmers the border belt.
"The present government isobsessed with its hatred of the opposition and has no time for the people, especially none for the farmers," he said.
SAD president Sukhbir SIngh Badal thanked the Prime Minister forannouncing the "positive and meaningful" hike in the MSP.
Sukhbir said that this wouldlighten the burden of the farmers to some extent.
The Cabinet has approved a Rs 105 per quintal hike in the minimum support price of wheat to Rs 1,840 per quintal for 2018-19 season.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)