"Minimum Support Price An Illusion", Says RSS-Linked Farmers' Body

With farmer unions intensifying their protests against the three agri laws, the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) on Tuesday urged the government to take a "sympathetic view" of their demands and sought a new law to ensure remunerative price for produce.

Days after farmers held a mega meeting in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh against the three central farm laws, the BKS said it will hold a countrywide protest on Wednesday pressing for a new law for ensuring that farmers get prices based on their cost of production.

BKS general secretary Badrinarayan Choudhary said, "Minimum Support Price is an illusion. Farmers are not getting MSP in all parts of the country. A new stringent law should be brought which ensures that farmers get a remunerative price of their produce."

Only farmers of one or two states could avail the benefits of MSP, while those in the rest of the country remained deprived of its benefits, Mr Choudhary said, adding that it is high time that efforts are made to reduce the input cost of agriculture.

He said the BKS had sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 11, stating that a major cause of anger and discontent among farmers across the country is that they are not getting a remunerative price for their produce.

When asked about the protesting farmers' demand, Mr Choudhary said, "Government should take a sympathetic view of their demands, though it is also the case that some of the farmers' demands are not reasonable."

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