Farmers rejected offer as they understood government’s ‘mischief’; will provide justice to them: Congress

PTI

New Delhi, February 20

The Congress on Tuesday claimed that protesting farmers have rejected another “false offer” as they have understood the government’s “mischief” and asserted it is committed to providing legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and take other necessary steps to provide justice to the tillers.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the legal guarantee for MSP would not make the Indian farmers a burden on the budget but ensure they become the drivers of GDP growth.

He claimed that “lies” are being spread that the MSP guarantee is not feasible under the government’s budget.

In a post on X, Gandhi claimed that ever since the Congress resolved to provide legal guarantee for the MSP, ‘Modi’s propaganda machinery and media friendly to him have spread a barrage of lies on MSP’.

‘Lie—It is not feasible to provide legal guarantee for MSP in the budget of the government of India. Fact—According to CRISIL, giving MSP to farmers in 2022-23 would have resulted in an additional burden of Rs 21,000 crore on the government, which is only 0.4 per cent of the total budget,’ Gandhi said in his post.

In a country where bank loans worth Rs 14 lakh crore have been waived and corporate tax exemption of Rs 1.8 lakh crore given, why is even a little expenditure on farmers irking them, he asked escalating his attack on the ruling dispensation.

With the legal guarantee for MSP, investment in agriculture would increase, demand would increase in rural India and farmers would also get confidence in growing different types of crops, which is a guarantee of the country’s prosperity, Gandhi argued.

“Those who are spreading confusion on MSP are insulting Swaminathan and his dreams,” the former Congress chief said.

#Agriculture #Congress #Minimum Support Price MSP