Congress promises legal guarantee for MSP, supports protesting farmers

Expressing solidarity with the protesting farmers in Delhi, the Congress on February 13 promised that it would provide a legal guarantee for minimum support price to farmers if its INDIA bloc alliance came to power. The party claimed that the move would benefit nearly 15 crore farmers in the country.

At a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and his predecessor Rahul Gandhi announced their plan to provide MSP in accordance with the farm income recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee, a primary demand of protesters gathered at the borders of the national capital for the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march. The rally was the concluding event of the Chhattisgarh leg of the party’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which will resume in Bihar two days later.

Mr. Kharge termed this announcement the party’s first guarantee, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

He also criticised the police action around Delhi to contain the protests. “The farmers who have been fighting for their rights [on the Delhi border], iron spikes were laid on the road and cement walls were placed to stop them. What kind of democracy is this? Can’t anyone fight for their rights?” he asked.