NEW DELHI: The Centre has not purchased crop produce at minimum support price (MSP) from farmers of Delhi in the last five years and this has forced them to undersell their produce, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed on Thursday.
The BJP, however, said that the AAP was trying to mislead farmers. AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha claimed that Delhi government ministers, officials and mandi (agricultural market) presidents have written letters to the Union agricultural minister in this regard, but no action has been taken by the Centre.
“After 2015, Central government has not purchased even a single crop from farmers of Delhi, let alone be it on the MSP. The farmers of Delhi were left to get plundered by private players,’ he said.
“2015 was the last year when Centre had purchased wheat produce from Delhi farmers. It has been 5.5 years, and the Narendra Modi government has not purchased the produce, not even of a single rupee,” Chadha said. Chadha claimed that Delhi’s farmers are at the “mercy” of private players because of insensitivity and fake promises.
“Not a single institution has helped our farmers in the last five years, which has forced tfarmers to undersell their produce,” he said.
Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said opposition parties are trying to bake their political bread by misleading farmers on the new farm laws. They also tried to create a ruckus in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and tried to show that they are wellwishers of farmers, he said.
The AAP is also opposing the farm bills. The AAP has been in power in Delhi for six years, but till date they have not given status of farmers to farmers, Gupta claimed. Due to this the farmers of Delhi are deprived of the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana till date, the BJP leader said. Delhi has 21 out of 70 assembly constituencies where farmers live and the insensitive AAP government has not given them any facilities, he said.
‘Still waiting for Centre’s response’
AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha claimed that Delhi government ministers, officials and agricultural
market presidents have written letters to the Union agricultural minister in this regard, but no action
has been taken by the Centre