A day after the Centre constituted a panel to resolve agricultural issues, including Minimum Support Price (MSP), Punjab’s farmers and political leaders on Tuesday came on the same platform to reject the 29-member committee as it has no representative from the State that led the year-long agitation against three contentious farm laws.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the pan-India umbrella body of farmers’ organisations that protested against Centre’s three farm laws, on Tuesday said that there is no rationale to send its representatives to Central Government’s MSP committee, while declaring that the struggle for the legal guarantee of MSP to ensure fair price for the crop to the farmers will continue.
Notably, the Centre has notified the formation of the 29-member committee on Monday in line with the announcement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made on November 19 while announcing the withdrawal of the controversial farm laws.
Issuing the notification of the panel aimed at promoting natural farming, crop diversification, and to make MSP more effective and transparent, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare have asked the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to send three names to be part of the panel.
“We have rejected the committee on MSP and other issues, and we have decided not to nominate its representative in the committee. The decision was taken in the meeting today. We had made public our doubts about any such committee ever since it was announced by the Prime Minister...The committee has five representatives of farmers’ unions included those who supported the farm laws...SKM has been asked to give three names. Many others are government officials, even the chairman of the panel is former Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal, who drafted all three anti-farmer laws. He is accompanied by NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand who was the main advocate of these three laws,” said Krantikari Kisan Union president and SKM’s coordination committee member Dr Darshan Pal.
Another farmer leader pointed that even though Punjab led the year-long protests against the agri laws, no one from the state has been included in the 29-member committee.
He said: “In the 29-member committee, SKM has been asked to send just three names. And in other places, the government has placed its five loyalists, who openly advocated all three anti-farmer laws, in the name of farmer leaders. All these people are either directly associated with BJP-RSS or support their policy.”
“Krishna Veer Choudhary is associated with the Indian Farmers’ Society and is a leader of the BJP. Syed Pasha Patel is a former BJP MLC from Maharashtra. Pramod Kumar Choudhary is a member of the National Executive of the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. Gunwant Patil, associated with the Shetkari organization, is a WTO advocate and General Secretary of the Swatantra Bharat Paksh Party. Guni Prakash has been a pioneer in opposing the farmers’ movement. These five people spoke openly in favour of all three anti-farmer laws and most of them have been spewing venom against the farmers’ movement,” he added.
The official statement of the SKM, released later in the evening, also pointed out that there was no mention of making a law on MSP in the agenda of the committee. “That is, this question will not be placed before the committee. Some items have been put in the agenda on which the government committee is already established. In the name of reforms in agricultural marketing, an item has been inserted through which the government can try to bring back three black laws,” it added.
Why Punjab has been kept out of panel: AAP
Taking strong objection to the Centre’s decision to exclude Punjab Government representatives from the Committee on MSP, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said that it is not only unfair but also violates principles of federalism. “BJP Government has deliberately excluded Punjab because this State took the lead in opposing the three farm bills and had coerced the BJP government to constitute this committee,” he said.
He said that it shows the anti-farmers and anti-Punjab policies of the BJP Government as “most of the members of the committee are those who supported the Central Government during protests against the anti-farm laws”.
“Punjab as the birth-place of the Green Revolution and the food bowl of India, has not been allowed to have governmental representation, while bureaucrats from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha have all been given spots in this 26-member committee,” Chadha said in a tweet.
Chadha said that continuing the terrible legacy of the farm laws that forced Punjab’s farmers to hit the streets and sacrifice lives, “the BJP chose Guni Prakash – who supported BJP CM Manohar Lal Khattar's call for violence against agitating farmers; Gunwant Patil – who was endorsing how the farm laws are revolutionary while Punjab’s farmers tolerated the biting cold and continued their protest; and Sayyed Pasha Patel – a BJP politician from Latur. But Punjab has been kept outside the door”.
Ignoring Punjab in ‘agriculture committee’ reflects badly on AAP govt: Cong
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday lashed out at the Central Government for cracking a cruel joke at the farmers of the country in general and Punjab in particular by avoiding any reference to “legal guarantee for MSP” in its recently constituted committee for the purpose. Warring also lashed out at AAP Government in Punjab for its failure to pursue the matter with the Centre sincerely and seriously. “With the result, the Central Government completely ignored Punjab while constituting the committee,” he pointed out, while remarking, “this reflects very poorly on the efficiency, capability, and credibility of this government”.
Dubbing thee committee as “just eyewash” and a “cruel joke”, Warring said that the basic demand of the farmers was a legal guarantee for the MSP for various crops as there are genuine apprehensions that the NDA Government at the centre might do away with the system (of MSP).
“But while setting the terms of reference, there is no mention of legal guarantee for the MSP,” he said, observing that this was complete betrayal with the farmers of the country as they had lifted their year-long dharna only after they had been assured that committee will be constituted which among other things will look into legal guarantee for the MSP.
Recast Committee on MSP to include representatives from Punjab, agri experts: SAD
SAD on Tuesday demanded from the Centre to recast the Committee on MSP to include all stakeholders, including representatives from Punjab as well as agri-experts.
“The Government should have avoided nominating members who were the architects of the farm laws, including its chairman Sanjay Agrawal who was the former Agriculture Secretary and Member (Agriculture) NITI Aayog Ramesh Chand...Members with different mindsets and perspectives are the need of the hour as we now need to think beyond the farm laws which have been revoked and bring in changes as per the wish of the farming community,” said SAD’s senior leader Daljit Singh Cheema.
Starting from a clean slate is the need of the hour, he said adding that the Committee should include representatives who do not have any conflict of interest.
Cheema also highlighted the need to not only finalize MSP guarantee but guarantee of assured purchase on MSP. “This is a necessity as the Central Government has earmarked MSP for all crops but only wheat and paddy are being purchased on MSP. This issue should be discussed first and finalized and implemented to the satisfaction of farmers. Other recommendations can be given later,” he added.