New Delhi: As farmers’ protests rage on, Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said in the Rajya Sabha that the Narendra Modi government would buy all farm produce at the minimum support price (MSP).
He assured this during Question Hour in response to supplementary questions on the issue of MSP for farmers. The remark by Chouhan came on a day when the farmers kicked off a foot march to Delhi, carrying a list of demands, including legal support for MSP.
Chouhan told the House: “I want to assure the House through you that all produce of farmers will be purchased at minimum support price. This is the Modi government and the guarantee to fulfil Modi’s guarantee.”
The minister also took a dig at the Opposition members, stated that “when our friends from the other side were in power, they had gone on record saying that they cannot accept the MS Swaminathan Commission recommendations, especially on giving 50 percent more than the cost of produce”. To support his claim, he mentioned the names of former minister of state for agriculture Kantilal Bhuria, former agriculture ministers Sharad Pawar and K V Thomas.
Following his statements, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked him to submit the documents backing his claim, and Chouhan agreed to it.
Chouhan said that the Opposition has never respected or honoured the farmers and never gave a serious consideration to farmers’ demands for remunerative prices. “I want to assure the House through you that since 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to calculate the minimum support price by giving 50 per cent profit on cost of production to farmers.” He claimed that the Modi government has been offering remunerative prices to farmers, and pointed out that paddy, jowar, wheat, and soyabean have been bought at 50 per cent above the cost of production for the past three years.
(with inputs from PTI)
