Haryana Congress on Thursday condemned the meager hike of Rs50 in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy, announced a day before, as reflective of the anti-farmer approach of the Narendra Modi Government.
Kiran Choudhry, leader of Haryana Congress legislature Party criticized the Centre’s decision and demanded Rs300 per quintal bonus on the pattern of wheat. Should the BJP-led NDA Government refuse to pay bonus, the Manohar lal Khattar Government in Haryana should do so to protect the interests of the farmers of the state, she said.
In a statement issued here, the former Excise and Taxation Minister said, “The negligible hike in MSP of paddy only underscores the pronounced anti-farmer approach of the Narendra Modi Government.
let the Haryana Government which does not tire of only speaking for the farmers prove its credentials and announce Rs300 bonus on every quintal of paddy procured in the state and not wait for the Centre to do so.” She recalled that the UPA Government had effected an average annual hike of Rs76 during its ten-year tenure which made the MSP for common paddy increase from Rs550 to Rs1,310 per quintal between 2003-04 and 2013-14. For grade A varieties, the MSP went up from Rs580 to Rs1,345 per quintal.
It appears that the farmers would never have “achhe din” under the BJP Governments at the Centre and in the state, she remarked.
Choudhry added that the farmers of Haryana have already suffered a lot under the BJP Government. They are yet to recover from the losses inflicted on their crops by the unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March-April.
It is clear that the BJP is for top corporate and has left the farmers whose plight has become miserable, to fend for themselves, alleged she.