Rahul Gandhi promises legal MSP guarantee, farmers’ rights commitment

Speaking at the ‘Kisan Nyay Panchayat’ in Bihar’s Rohtas, Gandhi pledged a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) of crops.

| Updated: 16 February, 2024 6:06 pm IST
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay yatra' in Bihar.

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay yatra’ in Bihar, made an announcement, assuring farmers that his party, if elected through the INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, would address their long-pending demands.

Speaking at the ‘Kisan Nyay Panchayat’ in Bihar’s Rohtas, Gandhi pledged a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) of crops.

Gandhi emphasised the challenges faced by cultivators, stating, “Cultivators are not getting the remunerative prices for their crops.” He highlighted the Congress party’s track record of responding to farmers’ needs, citing instances of loan waivers and MSP protection.

ALSO READ: Farmers’ march to Delhi continues amidst talks and Bharat Bandh

“If the INDIA bloc comes to power after the general elections, we will give a legal guarantee to MSP. Whenever farmers have asked for something from Congress, it has been given to them. Be it loan waiver or MSP, we have always protected the interests of cultivators and will do so in the future,” stated Gandhi.

This announcement coincides with the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a farmers’ body, to press the BJP-led central government for various demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for crops.

Despite security personnel halting farmers from Punjab at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Delhi and Haryana during their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, the protesting farmers have persisted at the border points, marking the fourth day of their agitation.

ALSO READ: Farmers’ protest causes traffic chaos on Delhi-Noida-Ghaziabad highways

In addition to addressing farmers’ concerns, Rahul Gandhi took the opportunity to criticise the BJP-led central government. He accused the government of diverting a significant portion of defense funds into the hands of industrialists, alleging that defense contracts primarily favor a corporate group.

“The Centre’s defense budget is not for the welfare of jawans, and all defense contracts are going to a corporate group only,” claimed Gandhi. He questioned the discriminatory treatment in compensating injured or martyred personnel based on categories within the Army.

The ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ initiated in Manipur on January 14, is set to cover 6,713 km in 67 days, passing through 110 districts in 15 states, concluding in Mumbai on March 20.

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