Varun Gandhi to bring private member bill seeking law on MSP

After backing farmers in their protest against the contentious bill, BJP MP Varun Gandhi has now put his weight behind a law for providing legal backing for Minimum Support Price for crops with an annual financial outlay of Rs one lakh crore through a Bill he proposes to place in Parliament.

He placed the Bill, which he believes to be an "actionable piece of legislation", in public domain on Sunday and welcomed "any critique" of it.

"India's farmers and her governments have long debated the agricultural crisis,in & out of commissions.The time has come for an MSP law.I have created and submitted to parliament what I believe to be an actionable piece of legislation," he said.

Gandhi has been at the forefront in supporting the farmers in their protest against the now-repealed farm laws and was vocal in taking against Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, whose son was arrested for his alleged involvement in the mowing down of protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. A day after announcing the repealing of laws, he also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying many “innocent lives” could have been saved had the decision been taken earlier.

The Bill proposed by Gandhi envisages guaranteed realisation of MSP for 22 agricultural commodities with an option of more inclusions on a need basis.

The MSP should be set at a profit margin of 50 per cent over the comprehensive cost of production, which includes actual paid expenses on inputs, value of unpaid family labour, and foregone rentals on farmland and fixed agricultural assets, as recommended by the Swaminathan Committee in 2006, the Bill proposes.

The Farmers Right to Guaranteed Minimum Support Price Realisation of Agri-Produce Bill has been proposed by Gandhi against the backdrop of the farmers' demand and his belief that the efficacy of MSP has declined as most farmers do not receive the declared MSP, remaining at best limited to cereals within a handful of states.

"A close look at acreage and declared MSP, especially for pulses and oilseeds in recent years, illustrate that MSP has limited impact on acreage under a crop, as farmers have inadequate information and Government procurement agencies have focussed comparatively more on selected crops in selected geographies," he says in the Statements of Object and Reasons of the proposed Bill.

The Bill proposes price announcements two months before the start of the harvest season to help farmers plan their sowing in advance and a separate Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the implementation of the law.

It also demands establishing well-equipped procurement centres — one for every five villages — and creation of supply chain infrastructure helping farmers to seamlessly store and sell their produce during the post-harvesting season.

Check out DH's latest videos: