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'Will press govt ’: Rahul Gandhi recalls MSP promise after meeting with farmers
Rahul Gandhi met 12 farmer leaders inside the Parliament complex, who had come Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said on Wednesday that the INDIA bloc will press the BJP-led NDA government for a legal guarantee on minimum price support (MSP).
The Congress leader's statement came after meeting with 12 farmer leaders inside the Parliament complex, who had come from various states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
"In our manifesto for the general election, we had promised a legal guarantee for the MSP. We did an assessment and it can be done. In the meeting, we decided to discuss with other INDIA bloc leaders and press the government for its implementation,” said Rahul Gandhi.
The meeting was also attended by Congress Lok Sabha MPs KC Venugopal, Deepender Singh Hooda, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
Farmer leaders said they were promised by the Congress leaders that their demands would be raised in the Lok Sabha and that an investigation would be sought into the firing incident in Haryana.
On February 21, Haryana police allegedly fired teargas shells in a clash with protesting farmers in Hisar in a bid to prevent them from marching towards Khanauri.
The Supreme Court also proposed setting up a committee on July 24 to look into the various demands of farmers, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
The apex court has directed the Central government and state governments of Haryana and Punjab to suggest individuals who can be included in the committee, while ordering a status quo for a week on the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping since February 13.
The farmers have been demanding a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops, among other things. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union Budget for 2024-25, announced an allocation of ₹1.52 lakh crore for the agriculture and allied sectors.
