Terming the recent increase in the Minimum Support Price for kharif crops by the Central government as inadequate, farmer outfits and political parties have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of adopting an anti-farmer stance.
Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja alleged that the Central government has failed to take effective steps to help farmers especially in the midst of the epidemic. “The anti-farmer face of the BJP government has been exposed again. The announced increase in the MSP for different crops is insignificant compared to the rise in the cost of inputs,” she said.
The All India Kisan Federation had also rejected the increase of ₹53 per quintal in the MSP of paddy, describing it as insufficient in comparison with the rising cost of production and cultivation.
“The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) is oblivious to the ground situation as it is not represented by the farmers. We demand the reconstitution of the CACP by giving due representation to farmers. The meagre increase in the MSP of paddy, cotton and maize is even below the cost of production leaving aside any profit or benefit to the suffering farmers,” said AIKF president Prem Singh Bhangu and general secretary Vijay Kumar Chaudary in a joint statement.
They demanded separate budget for agriculture to increase public investment which is shrinking sharply and the implementation of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan’s recommendations in toto.
President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) Gurnam Singh said the rise in the MSP was insufficient and termed the decision a ‘betrayal’ by the BJP government.
Chaudhary Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union, has raised a demand to evolve a mechanism where the purchase under the MSP should be brought under legal provisions. “If anyone purchases the produce below the MSP, there should be a provision of initiating legal action under criminal sections,” he said in a statement.