How will the govt ensure farmers get MSP, asks Chidambaram

As Parliament passed the two contentious agricultural Bills on Sunday, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked the government how it will guarantee that farmers get the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.

"Agriculture Minister says that government will guarantee that the farmer will get MSP. Private trade takes place even today. The price paid to the farmer is invariably less than MSP. If the Agriculture Minister can magically ensure MSP, why has he not done that so far?" he said, in a series of tweets.

"How will the Minister know which farmer sold his produce to which trader? How will he know the millions of transactions that will take place every day all over the country? If he does not have the data, how will he guarantee MSP is paid in every transaction?" Chidambaram said.

"Does the Minister and the government think that the farmers are so foolish to believe the empty promise of the government?"

Charging the Modi government with not fulfilling its earlier promises, he asked if it had managed to put Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every Indian, doubled farmers’ incomes and created 2 crore jobs every year.

On Sunday, the Congress and other opposition parties objected to the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 as they were presented in the Rajya Sabha and demanded they be sent to a select committee.

The bills, which have already been passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this week, were subsequently passed amid protests and walkouts by opposition members.