'We'll put pressure on Narendra Modi to ensure MSP is given to farmers': Rahul Gandhi fires fresh salvo after meeting farmers in Parliament; farmers say will march to Delhi

A delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka met with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha today at the Parliament House complex to discuss the issues faced by farmers.

Immediately after the meeting, Gandhi addressed the press outside the Parliament complex and said that the reason why the farmers wanted to meet him was because their long-standing demand of minimum support price for crops with legal guarantee was not being met by the Narendra Modi-led government.

"We had a fruitful discussion and the Congress party supports MSP with legal guarantee and we even mentioned it in our Manifesto. We will discuss the issue with our INDIA Alliance partners, convince them and put pressure on the Modi government," Gandhi said.

The meeting was attended by Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, and Congress leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dharamvir Gandhi, Amar Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda, and Jai Prakash.

The delegation included 12 farmer leaders, from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, who conveyed the challenges faced by farmers in their states. However, there was initial confusion as the farmers were not allowed inside the Parliament complex. 

"We invited them... but they are not allowing them inside Parliament. They are farmers, maybe this is why," Gandhi had remarked earlier in the day.

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, one of the farmer leaders, expressed dissatisfaction with the government's failure to fulfill its promises. "Swaminathan report implementation is a must. We will continue our march towards Delhi," he said.

However, the government was quick to dismiss the meeting as an 'attempt at provocation.' Union Minister Bhagirath Choudhary, talking to the press, said that PM Modi's third term was dedicated to the farmers. "The people of the country are saying that PM Modi has dedicated the third term of government for farmers. The first thing he signed after taking charge as the PM for the third time was the 'Kisan Samman Nidhi'. Rahul Gandhi is trying to provoke the farmers... we request them not to be influenced by him," he told ANI.

During the meeting, the farmers requested Rahul Gandhi to introduce a private member's bill to revise the MSP law and ensure legal backing for it. These demands have been central to their protests since 2020.

Farmer unions across the country want the MSP to be based on the Swaminathan Commission's C2+50 formula, which factors in the cost of capital and land rent when calculating support prices. The protests have attracted international attention and has caused significant friction between the ruling BJP and the Opposition.

After months of blockades around Delhi and violent clashes between farmers and police, the government rolled back three contentious farm laws, during Modi's second term. However, the MSP issue persists, with farmers continuing to demand a formula change.

A second wave of protests, dubbed 'Delhi Chalo 2.0', erupted in February this year, demanding loan waivers and freezing of electricity tariffs for farmers. These protests took place months before a general election in which the BJP lost seats in key states.

With Assembly elections due in crucial states like Maharashtra an Haryana, which has significant proportion of farmers, the issue has only become more acute and refuses to die down.