Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday triggered a political row after he said that the Congress-led UPA government had rejected the Swaminathan Committee's suggestion on minimum support price (MSP).
Replying to a question by Samajwadi Party's Ramji Lal Suman in the Rajya Sabha, Chouhan accused the opposition of just doing politics in the name of farmers.
Suman had asked the Union Minister as to whether the central government will bring a law to provide legal guarantee on MSP to the farmers in the ongoing session.
Chouhan told the House that the Modi government had constituted a MSP committee, aimed at making the system more effective and transparent. The committee was formed after a year-long agitation by farmers in 2020-2021, demanding legal guarantee on MSPs.
"I would like to state that serving farmers for us is like worshipping God," he said, adding that there is no bigger well-wisher of farmers than Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Additionally, Chouhan said that the committee has been asked to examine the feasibility of giving greater autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and ways to make it more scientific.
To ensure higher prices of crops for farmers, a mandate has also been given to the committee to suggest steps for strengthening the agricultural marketing system in line with the changing needs of the country. This committee is also working on issues like natural farming and crop diversification, the agriculture minister said.
He noted that whenever the committee will submit its report, the Centre will examine it, adding that the government is continuously working towards the welfare of farmers.
On opposition's protests over his response, Chouhan went on to say that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had rejected the Swaminathan Commission's suggestion on MSPs that they should offer 50 per cent returns over the costs of cultivation.
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister cited a Cabinet note from July 28, 2007 and said that the Congress-led Centre had refused to implement the MSP suggestion.
Notably, the Swaminathan Commission had never mentioned a law to support MSPs, rather it recommended that MSPs should be at least 50 per cent more than the average cost of production.
The Modi government, in its 2018-19 budget, had announced that the MSPs will be fixed in a manner that cultivators would get 50 per cent returns.
'Delivering A Jalebi': Congress Slams Chouhan
The Congress, however, was not pleased by Chouhan's response on whether the government would introduce a legal guarantee MSP. The grand old party slammed the Union Minister, saying all that he accomplished was "delivering a jalebi".
The Congress-led Opposition created ruckus in the Upper House as they were not satisfied with Chouhan's response.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took to X and said that the Union Minister was asked a direct and straightforward question about legal guarantees on MSPs.
"For almost 30 minutes, he stonewalled and went round and round in order to avoid answering the question. Legal guarantee for MSP for rice, wheat and other agri-produce was the issue. All that the minister accomplished was delivering a jalebi," Ramesh said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala said that it was a "black day" for farmers in the nation.
"The sinister conspiratorial face of the (Narendra) Modi government got exposed as the agriculture minister of India stated that they would never frame a law guaranteeing MSP to 72 crore farmers and farm labourers in India," he alleged.
He said that conspiracy and design of the central government "got exposed" as the agriculture minister "refused C2+50 per cent profit as MSP for the farmers of India".
"C2 is input costs, family labour, and rent of land of the farmer. Modi ji had promised 50 per cent profit, but the government refused," Surjewala claimed.
"The agriculture minister admits that all they are doing is politics by holding 35–40 meetings of the committee constituted at the instance of the agitating farmers in July 2022," he said.
Surjewala claimed that Chouhan admitted that the committee has "done nothing" in two years.
"So, it is very clear that the Modi government has backstabbed the farmers of India by saying that -- they will not frame MSP as a law and they will not give C2+50 per cent as MSP in accordance with the report of the Swaminathan commission," Surjewala said.
