Dubbing the Rs 50 hike in MSP of wheat as the "cruelest joke of the decade", Punjab government has demanded that the MSP to be set at Rs 1,855 per quintal.
Lambasting the Centre's decision today, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal took strong exception to the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs which announced an increase of Rs 50 in MSP to Rs 1,400 per quintal of wheat.
The CM said the price did not even cover the cost of production and was much below the expectations of farmers.
"The latest decision defies all logic and economic common sense especially in the light of the inflammability of inflationary trend in the country," he said in a statement.
Assailing the Centre for penalising farmers, Badal said it was providing foodgrains at cheaper rates to consumers under the Food Security Programme at the cost of producers who were being constantly denied their rightful margins.
Calling it a "cruel bias" against farmers, Badal demanded that the price be set at Rs 1,855 "in accordance with the prevalent cost of inputs in market".
The "non-remunerative" MSP coupled with anti-farmer policies of the Centre was primarily responsible for the slowdown of the agricultural growth, he said, adding Punjab farmers were already reeling under heavy burden of Rs 32,000 crore debt.
