Terming Narendra Modi government as anti-farmer and anti-poor, the grand secular alliance in Bihar today came down heavily on the Centre for its alleged failure to keep its promise of increasing MSP to 50 per cent of agriculture input cost.
"This is an anti-farmer, anti-peasant and anti-poor government as it (Modi government) had promised during the last Lok Sabha elections that it would give the farmers 50 per cent of agriculture produce's cost of production as Minimum Support Price (MSP). It has not only failed to adhere to its promise but also effected a token hike of 3.5 per cent in MSP of wheat and paddy," JD(U) General Secretary K C Tyagi told reporters here.
Tyagi, who was accompanied by JD(U) MP Harivansh and Congress spokesperson P L Punia, said the then Prime Minister candidate Narendra Modi and the then BJP president had promised to devise a new formula for fixation of MSP for agriculture produce but the NDA government has betrayed the farmers in one and half years of its rule at the Centre.
The Centre effected a token hike of 3.5 per cent as MSP of wheat and paddy in the past two years whereas UPA, the previous dispensation at the Centre, increased MSP by 120 and 130 per cent for wheat and paddy respectively in its 10-year rule, Tyagi said.
Stating that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution issued letters to state governments soon after NDA government came to power at the Centre asking them not to give bonus on MSP of Rs 300 to farmers but Bihar and Chhattisgarh governments continued to give the bonus.
Support price of sugarcane too has not witnessed any increase in the past two years, he said, adding, Rs 11,000 crore of farmers' dues have not been paid by the sugarmills.
"The government has not increased MSP under pressure from World Trade Organisation (WTO)," Tyagi alleged.
