Spokesperson: Shri Pawan Khera: He said that Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji and our popular leader Shri Rahul Gandhi ji have taken a historic decision for 62 crore farmers of the country yesterday in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh. Congress Party will give legal guarantee of MSP to the farmers. Many BJP leaders have started raising questions on this. As soon as the announcement was made, the entire ecosystem is spreading lies and propaganda on the MSP.

Rahul ji has rightly said - “The one whose USP is fraud, can only do politics with the farmers in the name of MSP, not justice.”

We want to ask 3 direct questions to BJP –

1. Is it not true that the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Government, Shri Narendra Modi, being the Chairman of the Report of Working Group on Consumer Affairs, in March 2011, had not said that “higher prices would motivate farmers to increase the production”?

The report directly talked about implementing MSP –

“The market intervention for perishable products could also be introduced on cost sharing basis by GOI with the States.

Enforce MSP: Since intermediaries play a vital role in the functioning of the market and at times, they have advance contract with farmers. In respect of all essential commodities, we should protect farmer’s interests by mandating through statutory provisions that no farmer - trader transaction should be below MSP, wherever prescribed.”

If Modi ji himself had not given this recommendation, then who had given it? Is he now going back on his own recommendations and opposing them?

2. Is it not true that in an election rally in Haryana before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the then BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Shri Narendra Modi had promised farmers Input Cost + 50% on the lines of the Swaminathan report? Is it not true that while responding to a PIL in the Supreme Court in February 2015, the Modi government took a shameful ‘U’ turn and replied with an oath that the cost of production + 50% profit can never be given to the farmer?

3. Is it not true that on July 3, 2016, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, in response to an RTI, said that 50% profit on the input cost of crops can lead to market distortion?

The Congress Party had announced the legal guarantee of MSP to the farmers in its Raipur Plenary held last year itself. This is recorded in our resolution for Agriculture and Agricultural welfare.

We want to know who are these BJP economists who are falsifying the report given by Bharat Ratna Dr. MS Swaminathan ji?

The atrocities and injustice done to farmers by BJP and Modi government have not been done by any government after independence. Wednesday, February 14, 2024