Will form MSP panel, but after polls: Narendra Tomar

New Delhi, February 4

A day after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced “Mission Uttar Pradesh” asking voters in the poll-bound state to “punish” the BJP for reneging on its promises to farmers, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar today said in the Rajya Sabha that the government was committed to forming a committee on the MSP.

The minister, however, contended the committee could be formed only after the Assembly elections in five states, as the Election Commission had barred the government from taking any decision in this regard because of the model code of conduct.

Responding to a supplementary query during the Question Hour, Tomar said, “The entire nation knows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the formation of a committee to make crop diversification, natural farming and MSP effective and transparent. The government is committed to the announcement made by the PM. The matter is under consideration of the ministry.”

Tomar went on to add that since the elections were on, the ministry had written to the EC for guidance in the matter. “The EC has said that the committee should be formed after the elections conclude,” he said.

Replying to another query by Prasanna Acharya (BJD) who asked if the government was considering bringing a Bill in the House to give a legal guarantee to the MSP, Tomar said that prior to 2018, there was no mechanism to define the MSP and make farming profitable.

“In fact, fixing MSP at 50 per cent higher than the cost of production was one of the 14 recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee that was rejected by the inter-ministry panel then. “However, PM Modi accepted that recommendation in 2018-19 and started fixing higher MSP in interest of farmers,” he added.

Under consideration

The entire nation knows that PM Modi has announced the formation of a committee to make crop diversification, natural farming and MSP effective and transparent. — Narendra Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister