Chandigarh, April 25: Bharatiya Janta Party Kisan Morcha has decided to hold a nationwide campaign protesting against the present system of deciding minimum support price (MSP) for various crops grown across the country. There is huge difference between the input cost of every crop and MSP granted, which needs immediate equalisation.
This was decided at the two-day national BJP Kisan Morcha meeting that culminated here on Sunday. The meeting saw State in-charge and State presidents of 19 States participating along with the office bearers of the national body.
BJP Kisan Morcha president Om Prakash Dhankar said that the campaign would begin from the respective districts level meetings being started from May onwards. “The district committees would give detailed report on cost of input per crop. During the meetings to be held at grain markets, direct feedback would be taken from farmers and agriculture analysts,” he said.
Dhankar added that later input costs would be discussed at the State level and further at the national level meeting to be convened at Delhi. Coming down heavily on the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), Dhankar said that not even a single State is getting MSP in accordance with the input costs of crop.
“Great injustice is being done to farmers of entire nation. Input costs are not even being considered properly while fixing MSP. For instance, different ways of irrigating fields means incurring different input costs. There is lot of differences in input of crop irrigated using canal water, tube well and tube wells run on diesel-engines. CACP is turning Nelson’s eye to many aspects on inputs,” he said.
Dhankar demanded that the procedure of fixing price of a crop should be transparent.
Opposing Seed Bill, Pesticides Management Bill and Biotechnology Authority Bill, Dhankar said that UPA-led Central Government is passing such bills to favour few multi-national companies and destroy lives of millions of farmers in country. Enacting these laws, the Centre wants to take over agriculture, which is a State subject.
“From the village chaupals to Parliament, we will oppose these bills,” he said.
——Agencies