Sashtri s MSP being diluted under WTO pressure by Centre: Digvijay

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh Thursday hit out at the Centre for the farm bills and said that former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had introduced the minimum support price(MSP) for farmers which is being diluted by the NDA government at the Centre under pressure of World Trade Organisation.

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh Thursday hit out at the Centre for the farm bills and said that former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had introduced the minimum support price(MSP) for farmers which is being diluted by the NDA government at the Centre under pressure of World Trade Organisation. Singh made this allegation while addressing a press meet here as part of the opposition Congresss nationwide protest against farm and labour bills passed recently in Parliament.

It was Lal Bahadur Shastri who introduced the MSP system keeping in view the interest of the farmers to ensure that the cultivators get justice. He had set up the cost and price commission to fix MSP. "However, the present BJP government has been trying to dilute it under international pressure, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.

The efforts are being made through the farm bills to allow multinational companies enter the agri market in India at the pressure of the WTO, he said adding that companies will be allowed to open their own mandis (market yards) for procurement across the country. The farmers will be exposed to exploitation as there will be no government control on the companies which will be engaged in procurement, he said and dubbed the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre as "anti-farmer".

There is also no provision in the Bill based on which an exploited farmer can approach the court of law. The farmers have to first lodge complaints with the sub-collector and later with the district collectors. If the farmer does not get justice from the collector, he has to move the central government. "Agriculture is a state subject, but the new bills have provision where the Centre will intervene, Singh said adding that the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) or Mandi Act will be regulated by the central government.

Referring to the issue of essential commodities, Singh said as per the new legislation the states cannot take action against the traders who hoard excess items as there is no upper limit on the stock. Indirectly, the new legislation will encourage black marketing and help hoarders, Singh said.

Claiming that Congress had made policies and legislations for the welfare of the farmers, tribals, dalits and labourers, he alleged that there is a "systematic attempt" to deprive cultivators and labourers of their rights. He said the erstwhile UPA government led by Congress had formulated several laws which gave rights to people on land, education, information and food despite international pressure.

In 1993, the then commerce minister Pranab Mukeherjee had outright refused to bow down to international pressure in the interest of small farmers and traders. Singh said adding that Congress had all along resisted international pressure from the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We (Congress) had made provision that the farmers in rural India will get four times the price for their land, while it was double the price in urban areas. There was also provision of returning the land to the owners if it had not been used for five years. Soon after the Modi government came to power, it brought an ordinance to repeal it. All other parties had opposed it, Singh said.

Under the provision of the new farm bills, the big companies will be able to procure food grains from farmers. We (Congress) are on the other hand being accused of spreading lies on MSP. Let the BJP government add provision of punishment for the people who purchase food grains from farmers at lower price. It is not doing that but making wild allegations against Congress, Singh said.

He was reacting to legislations like Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill and also three key labour reforms bills recently passed in the Parliament. He said the labour reform bills will remove impediments to wind up companies and allow firms with up to 300 workers to fire staff without government permission.

Earlier, the limit was 100. Alleging that the BJP government was for the rich and the capitalists, Singh claimed that Congress has all along worked for the welfare of the poor, farmers and common men struggling for their survival.

He also came down heavily on the ruling BJD in Odisha headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for supporting the farm bills in Lok Sabha, though it had later opposed it in Rajya Sabha. There is a secret understanding between BJP and the BJD. Both are anti-farmer, the Congress leader said.