BHUBANESWAR: The ruling BJD, which had made the paddy MSP (minimum support price) a major political issue against the Centre, voiced its displeasure over the Union Cabinet’s decision on Wednesday to hike MSP by Rs 200 for the food grain. “The belated announcement of the Central Government raising MSP for paddy by Rs 200 per quintal for the ensuing kharif marketing season is a welcome step but it is grossly inadequate.
The Centre has once again betrayed the farmers,” said BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb. The BJD leader criticised the NDA Government for failing to keep its promise to implement the Swaminathan Committee report which has recommended that farmers should get an MSP which is 50 per cent higher than the comprehensive cost of production.
Had the Centre fixed the MSP as per the recommendation of Swaminathan Committee, the farmers could have been benefited by an additional Rs 300 per quintal, he added. Accusing the Narendra Modi Government of neglecting the farmers, Deb said the Centre is to be blamed for the current crisis in the farm sector across the country.
The BJD had launched a sustained agitation last year demanding enhancement of support price of paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal taking into account the actual cost of production of one quintal of paddy as against the MSP of Rs 1,550 per quintal. The party intensified the agitation after an Assembly panel headed by the Speaker, failed to get an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue.
The Congress too has come down heavily on the Prime Minister for failing to keep his promise to the farmers. In a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said though the Centre announced in its budget to hike the support price by one-and-a-half times of the production cost for kharif crops, it has not been kept, he said. “Forget this year’s production cost, MSPs announced by Modi govt (sic) today is not 1.5 times of even last year’s cost. This was PM’s last chance to redeem himself after causing 4 yrs of distress.
But Alas! he failed again” Niranjan tweeted. The BJP, however, countered the Opposition charges with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan proclaiming this is the highest ever MSP hike in the last 15 years. The ruling BJD and the Opposition Congress are only shedding crocodile tears over the issue. He sought to know from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik about his promise to provide a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal to the farmers at a farmers’ rally at Sohela in Bargarh district in 2015.
‘MSP hike disappointing’
Parlakhemundi: FOOD Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister, Surya Narayan Patro on Wednesday said the hike of Rs 200 in minimum support price (MSP) of paddy was disappointing for farmers of Odisha.
Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS) convenor Akshay Kumar criticised the Centre for providing minimum cost and doing maximum politics. “Though we had demanded `5,000 per quintal, the Centre could have at least accepted the proposal of the State Assembly Committee or implemented the recommendations of Swaminathan Committee,” he said. The NKS convenor informed that a mega rally by thousands of farmers will be organised at Cuttack on July 11 to protest the antifarmer policy of the Centre.