Congress Leader Pawan Khera Takes Dig At Centre Over Issue Of Minimum Support Price (MSP)

Khera claimed that the percentage increase of MSP for 20 crops was higher during the Congress-led UPA regime as compared to the current government.

New Delhi:Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday, August 1 took a dig at NDA-run Central government over the issue of Minimum Support Price (MSP) claiming the percentage increase of MSP for 20 crops to be higher during the Congress-led UPA regime as compared to the NDA-ruled government.

Taking to X, Khera posted an MSP chart and worte, “Forget the rhetoric. This is the data that was tabled in the Parliament. Out of the 22 mandated agriculture crops procured at Minimum Support Price (MSP) by the government, the percentage increase of MSP for 20 crops was higher during the UPA regime (2004-2014) compared to the NDA regime (2014-2024).”

Earlier, on the MSP issue, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had taken to social media and lashed out at the Centre. In his post on X he wrote:

"Today my colleague from INDIA group, Sanjay Raut, said a wonderful thing during his speech on the budget. He said who says the non-biological Prime Minister has not given MSP? He certainly has- but not to farmers but to his two allies.”

In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Ramnath Thakur, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said the government had constituted a Committee in July, 2022 consisting of representatives of farmers, Central government, State governments officials, and eminent Agriculture Economists and Scientists.

The Committee is to make suggestions so as to make MSP more effective and transparent, to promote natural farming, to change crop patterns keeping in mind the changing needs of the country, Thakur added.

“The meetings of the Committee are being held on a regular basis to deliberate on the subject matters assigned to it. The increase in MSP for crops during 2004-2014 and 2014-24 is attached at Annexure I,” Thakur said.