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Partap Singh Bajwa
Congress member of Parliament
The Independence Day speech in 2014 was commended from all quarters — it was ambitious, optimistic, full of hope and put the nation first. The 2018 Independence Day speech, however, was a study in Machiavellianism — it was deceitful, peddled twisted facts, ignored ground realities and put the elections first. The master orator, the mesmeriser, the Supreme Leader delivered a smartly crafted soliloquy to the masses. It was smart not in the intellectual sense, but in the self-congratulatory, bombastic, political sense. He gave us a speech that was high on rhetoric and low on realism. As supreme leaders tend to do, he gave himself a lot of credit and apportioned all the blame to leaders past — history and factual accuracy be damned.
In his nearly 80-minute address, the PM propounded many jumlas.
The jumla of MSP
One, however, stands above the rest; one will have an impact on our country greater than any other — the jumla of MSP and agricultural growth.
The Supreme Leader wants to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. To this end, he claimed the NDA government had 'finally' and 'after years of policy inertia' raised the MSP to 150 per cent of the production cost. The clever twist of facts was indeed 'mesmerising', the solution to agrarian distress seemingly within reach.
The MS Swaminathan Committee had recommended to the government that MSP must move to 150 per cent of the production cost. It said that this cost must include land rentals, leasing costs and interest paid and foregone on machinery — a formula known as C2.
Modi smartly dodged the key question of how to define the production cost. The government does not use the C2 formula, but a calculation that only includes input costs and family labour — a formula known as A2+FL.
The table, compiled with data provided by agriculture scientists MS Swaminathan and SS Johl, clearly shows how the government wants to mislead the people. This clearly is no 'historic' hike, even though Modi may claim so.
The supposedly pro-farmer government had even gone as far as to submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court. On February 21, 2015, the government had expressly stated to the SC that MSP at C2+50 per cent was a 'market-distorting' policy and, therefore, it should not be pursued. The whole episode is a remarkable case of doublespeak, with a dash of neo-liberalism for good measure.
Even if the PM's words are taken at face value, the government has done nothing to address the procurement issues in the sector. The MSP is redundant if crops are not procured at the given price, or are not procured at all. For instance, the hike in MSP was greatest for jowar, nigerseed (raamtil) and ragi — these crops saw zero procurement in 2017-18.
The Shanta Kumar Committee Report on procurement reported that only 6 per cent of farmers nationally are able to sell their produce at MSP. So, due to a chronic lack of reform, the PM's word actually has no impact on the ground.
Reality check
And here is a reality check for all the 'whataboutery' being readied by the Modi's personal cabal. Agricultural growth over the 10-year UPA period averaged 3.7 per cent. The MSP for wheat and paddy was doubled. The MSP for cereals was tripled. Not only the MSP, the UPA also boosted agri-exports: from $5 billion in 2003-04 to $43.23 billion in 2013-14. In the same year, India imported only $21 billion, thus providing a $22 billion trade surplus in agricultural products. Since then, our imports have increased by 72 per cent, while our exports have risen a 'whopping' 0.15 per cent. These numbers are from the government's own Annual Report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare. No wonder the government hates releasing statistics.
Farmer shortchanged
The farmer has been short-changed by the Supreme Leader.
Yet, the PM claims to want to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. The mesmerising ‘Jumla Government’ is at it again.
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