Only 20% MP Farmers Get MSP Benefit, Says Kamal Nath at ‘Khat’ Panchayat in Morena

Extending his support to farmers agitating over minimum support price (MSP) and other issues, former chief minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath said only 20% farmers in Madhya Pradesh get MSP benefits as against 95% in Punjab.

Addressing a ‘Khat’ (cot) panchayat in Morena district on Wednesday, Nath said also hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government over the three farm sectors laws against which farmers have been protesting across the country, particularly in and around the national capital.

Nath further said that while his government had initiated farm loan waiver scheme, the present Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP regime is deceiving farmers.

“With the new laws, the Centre plans to assign mandi status to traders and once this happens, MSP will cease to exist,” he said.

“India used to import foodgrains from the US around 40 years ago and farmers had to toil hard. From there, farmers have reached a stage where the country have started exporting foodgrains.” He further said that MSP was initiated during the times of late PM Indira Gandhi in a bid to nationalise the agri trade.

Besides Nath, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and other party functionaries attended the Khat panchayat. The Khat panchayat formally extended support to farmers’ agitation going on in the national capital. It was also announced at the meeting that senior Congress leaders led by Nath will be staging gherao of Raj Bhavan in protest of agri sector laws on January 23.

The Congress leaders also visited Cherra Manpur village where 24 persons had died after consuming spurious liquor and demanded a CBI probe into the tragedy.