Bring in ‘right to sell at MSP’ law: Yechury to PM

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce a Bill giving farmers the right to sell at MSP (minimum support price), in the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Meanwhile, a Kisan Mahapanchayat organised by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) at Jantar Mantar here today also called for providing remunerative prices to farmers and the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission report.

The government is treating farmers like “toys” by denying them their dues while extending massive waivers to industrialists in the country, senior CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan said.

BKU president Naresh Tikait said: “We are not against the government but we are against its anti-farmer policies. We cannot allow the government to avoid listening to and addressing the problems faced by the farmers.”

In a letter to Modi on Thursday, Yechury said the Bill should also guarantee an automatic annual review of the MSP, which will be at least 50 per cent more than production costs as established by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for that year.

Citing the overall distress in the farming sector, he asked the Prime Minister to address the problem.

“There have been increasing protests by farmers in one State after another, which have been met by your silence and apathy while the State governments of your party have let the police lose on the poor farmers.

“Six farmers have lost their lives in police firing in Madhya Pradesh, many seriously injured. Meanwhile, many continue to commit distress suicides, the latest such tragedy occurring in the (Madhya Pradesh) Chief Minister’s (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) own constituency,” Yechury said.

The CPI(M) leader further said Modi had promised farmers an MSP that will provide a 50 per cent net profit over production costs. “During the last three years, you have done nothing to fulfil this promise. The current MSP for various crops fixed by your government barely provides any returns to the farmer,” he said.

He added that both the FCI and NAFED do not buy all the produce of the farmer even at the existing MSP.

Later, Yechury said in a statement that the market price of soyabean in Madhya Pradesh is ₹2,500, which is lower than the production cost. “Similarly, paddy in Madhya Pradesh was being sold at 15 per cent less than the cost of production, while wheat was fetching the farmers a profit of only 2 per cent,” he said.

Congress leader Anand Sharma said over the past three years the Centre has reduced the investment in agriculture.

“Modi said he will double the income of farmers in five years. But the income of farmers increased just 1.4 per cent in the last year. At this rate, one does not know how many years it will take to double the farmers’ income,” he said.

Meanwhile, the road blockade protests announced by about 400 farmers’ organisations, trade unions and civil society organisations are likely to affect States like Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

The organisations are raising four demands — implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission recommendation of fixing MSP at 50 per cent above cost of production to all crops and guarantee purchase centres and comprehensive loan waiver; withdrawal of the notification banning cattle trade for slaughter in the cattle market; the resignation of Chouhan; and to reverse the reduction in allocation in MGNREGA.

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