2 weeks Ago
Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan NEW DELHI: Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday assured that all (marketable surplus) produce of farmers will be purchased at minimum support price (MSP) - an indication that the procurement of all farm produce, whose MSPs are announced, would happen with further increasing its footprints beyond popular crops, including paddy and wheat. His remarks came on a day Congress MP and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on social media said the govt should immediately implement all the demands of farmers, including a legal guarantee of MSP . His party later demanded that the PM invite farmers for talks.
Reaffirming his govt commitment, Chouhan underlined that the govt will not only continue to fix MSP at more than 50% of the production cost, but also procure produce from farmers. Chouhan's assurance came in Rajya Sabha while he was responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour on the issue of MSP to farmers. At present, the govt announces MSPs of 22 crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane.
But procurement mainly happens for a select few, including paddy, wheat, cotton and sugarcane. In case of other crops, including pulses and oilseeds, the procurement is not as robust as the ones for paddy and wheat. Referring to the Congress-led UPA govt, the minister said, "You did not purchase farmers' produce, we will purchase that and fix a higher MSP.
.. When Congress was in power, they never purchased farmers' produce at MSP and farmers shed tears of blood, but for me 'kisan ki sewa' (service to farmers) is like 'bhagwan ki pooja' (worship to god).
" Congress's Jairam Ramesh then recalled that Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, while speaking at a ceremony to mark the centenary of ICAR-CIRCOT in Mumbai, had asked the minister about the promises made to farmers. Dhankhar, however, on Friday praised in the upper house the minister's commitments towards farmers' welfare, noting that the man (Chouhan) revered as the brother of 'ladli' (beloved) sisters will now also be cherished as the 'ladla' (brother) of farmers. Expressing his confidence that the "energetic" minister will fulfil his responsibilities in accordance with his name 'Shivraj', Dhankhar said, "From today, I have given you a new name - Kisano Ke Ladle".
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