New Delhi: Hitting out at the Centre over the farmers' protests, the Congress on Wednesday asked why it is "running away" from giving legal guarantee on MSP despite repeated promises and claimed the farmers have "lost faith" in the Modi government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also spoke with a farmer injured in police action during a protest march and accused the Modi government of having a "dictatorial attitude" towards the country's food providers. In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked why the Modi government is "running away" from giving legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price for crops despite repeated promises.
"In 2011, Narendra Modi, as Gujarat chief minister and chairman of a working group, had submitted a report to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which said that 'In order to protect the interest of the farmers, we must ensure through legal provisions that no transaction between farmer and trader should be done below MSP'," he said.
In many of his speeches and election rallies during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had promised that all crops would be purchased at MSP, which would cover all costs and 50 per cent margin as per the Swaminathan Committee formula, Ramesh said. "But till date, there is neither legal guarantee of MSP nor is it based on the Swaminathan formula of C2+50%," he said.
Ramesh said that according to the Swaminathan Commission, the MSP of wheat should be Rs 2,478 per quintal which is only Rs 2,275 per quintal currently. Similarly, the MSP of paddy is only Rs 2,183 per quintal instead of Rs 2,866 per quintal, he said. "Modi ji, why didn't you implement the findings of your own 2011 report? Why did you lie to the farmers by repeatedly promising MSP? Today the farmers of India have lost faith in the Modi government. It is only Congress Party's 'Kisaan Nyay Guarantee' that will give legal guarantee of MSP to farmers based on the Swaminathan formula," Ramesh asserted.
In a post in Hindi on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi said, "Talked on phone to former soldier Gurmeet Singh ji, who was seriously injured in police atrocities during the farmers' movement." "Equired about his health and expressed support to him for their peaceful movement demanding their rights," the former Congress chief said.
"He is a youth as well as a farmer - instead of hailing him, this dictatorial attitude of the Modi government towards the country's protector and food provider is putting democracy to shame," Gandhi said. When the Congress leader asked Singh about the injuries, he replied that he was wounded in hands and near his eye.
Farmers on Tuesday had clashed with the Haryana Police at two border points between the states, facing tear gas and water cannons as they tried to break past barricades blocking their protest march to the national capital. Farmer leaders on Tuesday blamed the Centre for the "attack" on protesters marching towards Delhi and claimed that 60 of them were injured as police used tear gas shells at Punjab-Haryana border points.
Twenty-four police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured as protesters hurled stones at them, officials said. The Congress on Tuesday condemned the BJP governments at the Centre and in states for stopping protesting farmers from marching to Delhi and promised to fulfil their key demand of a law guaranteeing MSP for various crops once the INDIA bloc comes to power. Supporting the farmers' agitation, the opposition party asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to directly talk to them and provide justice.
