Law on MSP possible; Chhattisgarh has it for years, says Bhupesh Baghel at HTLS

At HTLS 2021, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to take a step back and apologise for introducing the contentious farm laws.

Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said there should not be any bottleneck before the Centre to bring a legislation assuring the minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel speaks to HT's national political editor Sunetra Choudhary at the concluding day of 19th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Saturday.  (HT photo)

Baghel said Chhattisgarh has been procuring agricultural produce on MSP for the past three years.

Speaking to Hindustan Times' national political editor Sunentra Choudhary in a face-to-face session on the concluding day of the 19th HT Leadership Summit, Baghel said Chhattisgarh has been procuring agricultural produce on MSP for the past 20 years.

"We have been buying at MSP for 20 years in Chhattisgarh,” Baghel said.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Baghel said the farmers of the country forced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to roll back the contentious law.

He added that sensing the pulse of the people of the country, especially the farmers, the Prime Minister apologised for introducing the three contentious farm laws and roll them back.

“The BJP is still not accepting its mistake. Prime Minister Modi, who never used to apologise and take back his decisions, is doing so now. One result of by-election forced the Centre to cut duty on petrol and diesel,” Baghel said, exuding confidence that "the people taught them a lesson…BJP will be defeated in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.”

Addressing the country on occasion of Guru Purab last, the birth anniversary of Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev, the Prime Minister announced his government's decision to repeal the three farms laws against which hundreds and thousands of farmers have been protesting for the past one year.

Even as the Centre held multiple rounds of discussions with the representatives of the protesting farmers' unions and attempted to convince them of the “benefits” of the laws introduced — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 — the talks remained inconclusive.

When Parliament convened for the Winter Session, it passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 by voice vote to annul the controvers.