Ambikapur, Feb 13 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday promised to make Minimum Support Price a legal right for farmers and implement Swaminathan report in toto if the India alliance is voted to power in 2024.
Gandhi along with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the use of tear gas on farmers and their arrest for advocating for fair treatment, vowing legal safeguards for MSP if his party comes to power.
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of utilising economic policies like GST and demonetisation to ruin small-scale entrepreneurs across the nation, a charge which has been denied time and again by the BJP.
“If the INDIA alliance comes to power, it will provide legal guarantees to Minimum Support Price (MSP) to them,” Gandhi said.
During his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, Gandhi also hinted at incorporating recommendations from the Swaminathan Committee into their election manifesto.
“Today, farmers are heading towards Delhi but they are being stopped, tear gas shells are being used on them, and they are being lodged in jails. They are just demanding that they should get a better return for their hard work and farm produce,” Gandhi said at an event at the party’s headquarters in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district.
The statements from Gandhi and Kharge come on a day when clashes erupted at Haryana border points as farmers aimed to breach police barricades en route to New Delhi, met with tear gas by police.
Notably, a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers are among the prominent demands raised by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation. Gandhi reiterated his stance on enshrining MSP as a legal right for farmers, citing the unimplemented suggestions of agricultural expert MS Swaminathan, who has been recently awarded Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
“Swaminathan ji has clearly said in his report that farmers should get the legal right to MSP. But the BJP government has not been doing this. If the INDIA alliance comes to power at the Centre, our government will provide legal guarantees to MSP for farmers,” Gandhi said.
He said the INDIA alliance will honour all the recommendations in the Swaminathan report if voted to power.
“This is our beginning. Our manifesto is being prepared. We are going to work for farmers and labourers,” the Congress leader said.
He pledged that the INDIA alliance would uphold all recommendations from the Swaminathan report upon assuming power, emphasising a commitment to the welfare of farmers and labourers.
Gandhi termed the GST and demonetisation as a dual weapon to ruin small traders and businessmen.
“Narendra Modi ji did two experiments – GST and demonetisation. If you ask any other businessman, except Adani and Ambani, they will tell you that demonetisation and GST ruined them. Inflation is also increasing,” he claimed.
Reiterating his demand for conducting a caste census, Gandhi said the survey would be an “economic and social X-ray of the country and it will be a revolutionary step for social justice”.
Moreover, Kharge, speaking at the same event, promised a legal guarantee for MSP under a prospective Congress government, contrasting it with what he labelled as hollow assurances by the present central government.
Kharge criticised the Centre’s policies, accusing them of neglecting the interests of farmers and the underprivileged while favouring the wealthy.
“I would like to announce from Chhattisgarh that legal guarantee to MSP with extensive procurement of crops for farmers as our guarantee (for upcoming Lok Sabha polls). If we come to power, then this guarantee will definitely be implemented. It is our first guarantee…,” he said.
He said of the farmers who have been fighting for their rights (on the Delhi border), “iron spikes were laid on the road and cement walls were placed to stop them. What kind of democracy is this? Can’t anyone fight for their rights?” The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra arrived in Chhattisgarh from neighbouring Odisha on February 8. The Yatra passed through Raigarh, Sakti, and Korba districts before embarking on the onward journey in Surguja district on Tuesday. PTI TKP KRK NP SKL NSK
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