The farmers' body wrote their letter to PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi on August 21. (File)
The MSP Guarantee Kisan Morcha (MSP GKM) Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, urging them to push for the enactment of a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.
Over 250 farmer organisations from 26 states and union territories gathered for a meeting at Gurudwara Shri Rakabganj Sahib in Delhi on Wednesday, the MSP GKM said.
In their letter to PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi dated August 21, the MSP GKM requested the introduction and passage of the MSP bill in the next Parliament session to secure a guaranteed MSP for the farming community.
"Mr. Prime Minister, on one hand the government refuses to give us a law on the guarantee of MSP (Minimum Support Price) and says that "MSP was, MSP is and MSP will remain" and on the other hand the government has guaranteed MSP (Minimum Selling Price) for industrialists," they said in the letter.
"Sir, when the government can give protection to sugar mill owners and even government-run petroleum companies, then why cannot similar protection be given to the farmers who voted for their government," they further wrote.
MSP GKM President VM Singh told PTI, "In 2011, Narendra Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, was chairman of a panel that had prepared a report on consumer affairs. The report had recommended the implementation of MSP, but the government at the time did not act on it. Now that he is the prime minister, why is he not taking action?" VM Singh mentioned that in 2018, a round table conference was held at the Constitution Club of India here, where 20-22 political parties from both the ruling and opposition sides agreed to bring in a law guaranteeing MSP.
"The Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party, which are now part of the government, supported the law during the round table conference. But these parties are not doing anything now," VM Singh claimed.
He also said that the opposition parties including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had also agreed to the MSP law during the 2018 conference.
"In many states, the opposition parties are in power, like the Congress in Himachal Pradesh and the AAP in Punjab and Delhi. Why do not these parties implement MSP in their states?" VM Singh said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)