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Centre must make MSP a legal right, say Congress MPs Bajwa, Dullo
The two Congress leaders demanded that any purchase below the MSP should be made a punishable offence
A Congress Rajya Sabha members Shamsher Singh Dullo and Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday demanded that the Centre must make the minimum support price (MSP) a legal right to prevent private corporations from buying agricultural goods below this price.
Speaking to reporters after paying obeisance at Golden Temple, Dullo and Bajwa, both former state Congress chiefs, said that Punjab must unite and ensure the Centre repeals the Acts that seek to liberalise agriculture.
“By notifying the anti-farmer laws on September 27, the Government of India has committed a mistake. The people of Punjab have been the sword arm of the country and have always been at the forefront to protect the nation. In the 1950s, when food security of India was under threat, and the Centre pushed through the Green Revolution, farmers of Punjab and Haryana led the battle to ensure India became the food surplus nation it is today. These sacrifices by farmers of Punjab and Haryana have come to nought now that the bills have been become law,” they said in a joint statement distributed on the occasion.
The two Congress MPs said the Centre must make MSP a legal right to prevent private corporations from buying agricultural goods below this price.
“Any purchase below the MSP should be made a punishable offence. The Centre must use the Swaminathan Commission recommendation to fix the MSP of crops. The Food Corporation of India must also be made to buy all prices at the MSP and never below,” their statement said.
