Chandigarh, May 13
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today rejected the meager hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy for the coming ‘kharif’ season. “It is a cruel and an insulting joke with the farmers”, he said, while adding, it does not match the proportionate increase in the massive rise in the input costs for the farmers.
The PCC president pointed out, with the rising inflation the input costs for the farmers have increased substantially and the government should have factored that in while fixing the MSP. This is the result, he added, more and more farmers are feeling desperate leading to a lot of suicides.
Warring said that the Punjabi farmers will suffer major losses, as Punjab is one of the main paddy producing states in the country. He pointed out, the cost of diesel, fertilisers, pesticides, labour and machinery has risen sharply. “How can ₹72 compensate for such a massive increase in input costs?” he asked.
“The BJP government increased paddy MSP by ₹72, but a farmer’s input costs have risen by hundreds and thousands per acre. What looks like relief on paper disappears before the crop is even harvested”, he remarked, while reminding Prime Minister Modi of his promise of “doubling the farmers’ income by 2019.”
