Bhagwant Mann writes to PM Modi, seeks Punjab representation in MSP panel

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, demanding representation for Punjab in the newly constituted MSP committee.

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday demanded representation for Punjab in the newly established MSP committee. In letters to PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, the CM noted that despite "many experts and senior officers from various states" having been included on the panel, "no representation has been given to Punjab, the state in which the MSP mechanism is being implemented successfully since the initiation of the scheme".

Noting that the state had played a key role in making the country's food grain surplus, he said Punjab contributed "about 35-40 percent of wheat and 25-30 percent of rice to the Central pool during the last one decade." The CM urged the Centre to "get the MSP committee reconstituted by giving due representation to the state of Punjab."

"Regarding the representation of Punjab in the MSP committee, writing a letter to the PM @narendramodi, HM @AmitShah and Agriculture Minister @nstomar demanded to ensure proper representation of Punjab in the committee. The farmers of Punjab have played an important role in the Green Revolution. Their rights cannot be forgotten," he said in a tweet.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mann had slammed the Centre for not giving Punjab a representation in the committee, saying the panel without any farmers from the state will be like a "body without a soul". According to a Union government notification issued on Monday, the committee will look into ways to make MSP available to farmers by making the system more effective and transparent.