BJP holds meetings with farmers but can’t hear their pain: Priyanka

She claims that paddy farmers across U.P. were ‘forced’ to sell their produce at ₹800 below MSP

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said the BJP government was not “hearing” farmers’ pain but was holding meetings with them to push for laws that “take away” their rights.

Ms. Vadra claimed on Twitter that paddy farmers across Uttar Pradesh were ‘forced’ to sell their produce at ₹800 below the minimum support price (MSP). She tagged a video clip of a farmer from Ballia, who complains of corruption by officials while procuring his produce.

The BJP government was holding khat sammelan (informal meeting with farmers) on the Bills that kill their rights but was not hearing their pain, she said in a Hindi tweet.

"Almost across U.P., farmers are forced to sell their paddy at ₹1100-₹1000, at least ₹ 800 less than ₹ 1868 fixed as MSP. This is when the MSP is guaranteed. Imagine, what will happen when this guarantee of MSP ends,” she asked.

Punjab laws

Her comments come a day after the Congress-ruled Punjab became the first State in the country to pass laws in the Assembly to “undo” the three agriculture sector laws enacted by Parliament.

Arguing against the Central laws, the Congress alleged that they would weaken the position of farmers and wouldn’t guarantee MSP for their produce.

The BJP, however, accused the Congress of misleading farmers and asserted that while farmers would continue to get the MSP, the new laws now allowed them to sell their produce anywhere in the country by easing the curbs and restrictions under the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) regime.