Shivraj hits back: 'Sharad Pawar had rejected Swaminathan's MSP formula citing market collapse risk'

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that his predecessor Sharad Pawar had declined to implement the M S Swaminathan Commission's suggestion to add 50 per cent profit on cost to farmers in MSP citing market collapse risk. The minister said that Rahul Gandhi and Pawar do only lip service on the cause of farmers. Sharad Pawar served as agriculture minister from May 2004 to May 2014 during the Congress-led UPA government. 

Rahul Gandhi has been putting pressure on the Centre to bring a law for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Earlier this month, Gandhi said the INDIA bloc will put pressure on the government and ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for MSP. "Our manifesto promised a legal guarantee for MSP. We have done a full assessment and it is feasible," he had said. 

"Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar just keep talking...when Sharad Pawar was Union agriculture minister, he declined implementation of recommendations made by the Swaminathan Commission on adding 50 per cent profit on cost, claiming the market will collapse," Chouhan said while addressing the agriculture exhibition inauguration function at Parli in Beed district of Maharashtra.

Chouhan, who is credited with tranforming the agri sector in Madhya Pradesh, said the Modi government calculates the MSP for crops by adding 50 per cent profit on cost. He assured justice to farmers in Maharashtra by resolving crop-related issues. "Maharashtra is the only state in the country with a scheme that provides Rs 5,000 to soybean and cotton growers," he said. 

The agriculture minister said that the Centre will also work to give fair prices for soybean, cotton and onion crops to farmers. He also said that farmers will receive every single rupee of the PM Fasal Bima Yojana and reiterated the Modi government's promise to double their incomes. "Farmers complained to me that they did not receive money under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana. I promise them not to worry. They will get every single rupee. The government will leave no stone unturned to double the income of farmers," Chouhan said. 

Speaking at the occasion, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanded immediate redressal of crop-related problems faced by farmers. He called for a joint meeting with PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and state government and sought help to look into critical issues concerning onions, cotton, milk and milk powder, and soybean. 

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the Centre should decide against banning the export of onions. "Soybean, cotton, onion and tomatoes are getting good rates now. But we have to tell the Central leaders to declare that onion export will never be banned. This decision should be taken in the next 15 days," he said. 

Pawar also said the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) for sugarcane increased in the past five years but the MSP of sugar remains unchanged. "We will have to speak with the Prime Minister," he added. 

(With inputs from PTI)