Farmers Movement Archive

Supreme Court panel on agriculture laws may support ‘legal guarantee for MSP’ demand

NEW DELHI: The SC appointed committee on farm laws may consider backing protection for MSP in its report with several unions, including those not agitating against the farm laws, pitching for stronger protection of a floor price. There are indications that the three-member SC-appointed panel may in its report speak favourably on the demand on MSP as most unions who appeared before it or submitted their views called for a legal guarantee to MSP to procure all crops. Though these unions had not objected to central farm laws, in their representations they are learnt to have told the panel that any decision pertaining to giving legal guarantee to MSP may end the agitation as the protestors would not like to return to their villages empty handed. Even RSS-linked organisations such as Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (MSP) too have publicly spoken in favour of legal guarantee to MSP, besides submitting their other suggestions to the government. The SC-appointed panel, which held its multiple internal meetings this week for finalising the recommendations, is expected to submit its report by March 20. Sensing all-round support on MSP, which is the only demand that can bind the farmers together for continuing agitation, one of the key farm organisation in the protest against farm laws, Jai Kisan Andolan (JKA), on Thursday launched ‘MSP loot’ calculator to show losses incurred by farmers. Though the government's figures show increase in procurement footprints this year during the ongoing ‘Kharif Marketing Season’ (KMS), the organisation led by Yogendra Yadav used the official data to clarify how the farmers actually incurred loss as they were forced to sell their crops much below MSP in different states including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. “The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said ‘MSP was there, is there and will be there’, but in the first 15 days of March as Rabi crops arrived at ‘mandis’, his (PM) claim has been busted,” said Yadav while releasing findings of the ‘MSP loot’ calculator which showed how farmers in many states lost Rs 140 crore in just one crop, Bengal Gram (chana), which arrived at markets during March 1-15 period. Terming it as the “loot of farmers”, Yadav said, “If the same trend of sale below MSP price continues and the government does not interfere, then in this year itself the farmers will be looted Rs 870 crores.” The details put out by JKA also show a significant dip in arrivals of Bengal Gram in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka compared to the average of last three years. The JKA will release daily data from every state, every market and every crop, showing how the farmers are forced to sell their crops at price below MSP. “Its purpose is to expose the false propaganda of the Modi government that farmers are getting the MSP announced by the Centre,” said Avik Saha, national convenor of the JKA. Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) – farmer unions’ platform spearheading the protest against farm laws – decided to oppose the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) tighter procurement specifications for foodgrains. Besides setting higher quality standards for procurement of foodgrains, the FCI has also sought land records details to set up DBT of the price for procured grains. Thirty-two farm unions of Punjab on Thursday unanimously decided that the farmers in the state will not submit the land record related papers.

The Times of India

2021-03-19

India