Birender advocates MSP regime for paddy varieties

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 13

Refuting allegations of the Modi Government being a ‘suit, boot ki sarkar’, Union Minister Birender Singh today advocated a minimum support price (MSP) regime for all varieties of paddy to give remunerative to prices to farmers for their produce.

Addressing the media here today, he said an organisation on the pattern of the Cotton Corporation of India should be set up to help basmati farmers. “In fact, I and Union Minister Harsimrat Badal had already talked to Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and have even written to the Prime Minister about problems faced by basmati growers,” the Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj said.

Terming the Opposition’s allegations on the government being ‘anti-farmer’ as ‘baseless’, the Minister admitted that farming was ‘non-profitable’ unlike other professions such as politics and business where wealth multiplied over the years.

On the agricultural crisis, he asserted that out of 336 million hectares of land in the country, just 46 per cent was under cultivation and efforts should be made to bring 12.5 million of waste land under cultivation. “If that happens, there would be no food crisis for the next 25-30 years,” he quipped.

On NDA Government’s failure to rein in prices of commodities like onion, he replied, “inflation has come down. Now, if onion and potato prices are appreciating, one should not feel jealous about this, this is the right of farmers.”

When reminded that it was not the farmers but the middlemen who were benefiting from the increased prices, he replied, “this is what I am saying that farmers should get the benefit of the increased prices.”

Birender Singh also said there was a target of building 2.95 crore quality houses in rural areas under the NDA government’s flagship ‘Housing for all by 2022’ scheme.

In a bid to transform rural areas to economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces, the Cabinet has approved the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) with an outlay of Rs 5,142.08 crore to set up 300 rural clusters across the country by 2019-20.

Answering a question over eminent writers returning their awards against rising intolerance in the country, the ministers said he disapproved of the writers returning their awards. “Instead the writers should raise their voice through their writings against perceived intolerance in the country,” he stated.

He batted for Jat reservations asserting that the Jats were in the same socio-economic league as the Yadavs, Gujjars and Sainis who were getting quota benefits.