On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserted that providing a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) would not impose a financial burden on the Indian budget. Instead, he argued that such a guarantee would transform farmers into contributors to GDP growth. Gandhi dismissed claims that ensuring MSP is financially unfeasible within the government's budget, labeling them as lies.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi claimed that ever since the Congress resolved to provide legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP), Modi's propaganda machinery and media friendly to him have spread a barrage of lies on MSP
Lie- It is not feasible to provide legal guarantee for MSP in the budget of the government of India. Fact - According to CRISIL, giving MSP to farmers in 2022-23 would have resulted in an additional burden of Rs 21,000 crore on the government, which is only 0.4 per cent of the total budget, Gandhi said in his post.
Rahul Gandhi questioned why there is resistance to even a modest allocation for farmers when significant sums have been allocated for purposes such as waiving bank loans totaling Rs 14 lakh crore and granting corporate tax exemptions amounting to Rs 1.8 lakh crore. He emphasized that providing a legal guarantee for MSP would lead to increased investment in agriculture, heightened demand in rural areas, and bolstered farmer confidence in diversifying crop cultivation. According to Gandhi, this guarantee is essential for ensuring the nation's prosperity.
The former Congress chief criticized those who are sowing confusion regarding MSP, stating that they are disrespecting Dr. Swaminathan and his vision. He reiterated that providing a legal guarantee for MSP would not burden the Indian budget but rather empower farmers to contribute significantly to GDP growth.
Gandhi also tagged a video clip of Modi at a BJP event talking about the party's resolve to provide the rate to farmers for their crops based on the Swaminathan formula. Gandhi's remarks come a day after farmer leaders taking part in the Delhi Chalo agitation rejected the Centre's proposal of procuring pulses, maize and cotton at MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in the farmers' interest and announced that they would march towards the national capital on Wednesday.