Badal hails wheat MSP hike, but says farmers need more

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday hailed the increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 75 per quintal but added that the amount needs to be enhanced in the view of steep increase in the cost of agriculture inputs.

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday hailed the increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 75 per quintal but added that the amount needs to be enhanced in the view of steep increase in the cost of agriculture inputs.

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. (HT Photo)

In a statement here, Badal said the wheat MSP hike has come as a much needed relief to farmers. However, it was inadequate to absorb the huge burden imposed on farmers due to vagaries of weather and rising inflation. The MSP of farm products should be either linked to overall price index or Swaminathan formula of 50% profit, said the chief minister.

It’s a cruel joke on farmers: CPM

The Communist Party of India -Marxist (CPI-M) on Sunday rejected the Rs 75 hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat, terming it a cruel joke on farmers.

“The farmers are already reeling under huge debt. The Modi government, as per its election promise, should have fixed the MSP in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission formula of cost plus 50% more,” Punjab CPM secretary Charan Singh Virdi said in a statement here.