Congress slams PM Modi for betraying farmers on MSP, demands apology

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) The central government has "betrayed" farmers by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission recommendations, the Congress alleged on Wednesday and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the country for it.

The opposition party also said its promise to give a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) is the only way to implement the Swaminathan Commission report and claimed that the prime minister is "opposing" what he had recommended when he was the Gujarat chief minister.

"Be it the BJP's manifesto of 2014 or the recommendation of CM Modi's committee, the Modi government betrayed the farmers on the guarantee of giving legal MSP," Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged.

"Prime Minister Modi should apologise to the country - for speaking a lie to the farmers, for going back after filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court, for not answering the question of MSP through RTI and for calling farmers terrorists and foreign agents," he also said at a press conference.

He countered the claim that the 'Swaminathan Commission' report was not implemented by the Congress, saying there were 201 recommendations out of which the UPA government had implemented 175.

Hitting out at the Centre over the farmers' protests, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh 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 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'," Ramesh 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 claimed.

"But till date, there is neither legal guarantee of MSP nor is it based on the Swaminathan formula of C2+50%," he said.

Khera noted that there were 26 recommendations left, out of which the most important announcement related to MSP was made on Tuesday by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.

He said the last time when farmers were protesting against the three "black" agri laws, PM Modi had "apologised to them and said 'I withdraw all three laws. A committee will soon be formed to find a solution to the MSP problem'".

"But today it has been more than two years and no committee has been formed. Today, when farmers are protesting again regarding MSP, then rubber bullets are fired at them, tear gas shells are lobbed at them and nails are laid on roads," the Congress leader said.

Khera alleged that Narendra Modi made a false poll promise of giving MSP to farmers and became the prime minister.

"But PM Modi's lie came to light when an affidavit was filed in the Supreme Court regarding MSP in which PM Modi clearly said that we cannot give this kind of MSP in which the input cost is so high," he claimed, He said that "enraged by Congress' promise of giving MSP to 15 crore farmer families, the BJP's ecosystem is opposing just like it in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in February 2015".

"We all witnessed the cruel scenes yesterday. As if that was not enough, now the BJP is raising questions on the MSP itself," he noted.

Khera also asked whether it is not true that in an election rally in Haryana before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the then Modi who was then the PM candidate had promised farmers "Input Cost + 50 per cent" on the lines of the Swaminathan report. PTI