’MSP regime will continue,’ assures PM Modi amid massive farmers’ protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the system of "Minimum Support Price (MSP) will continue" amid a massive protest by farmers near Delhi against three central laws. The farmers have been protesting on different borders of the national capital since 26 November against three newly enacted farm laws- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The prime minister virtually addressed around 23,000 villages in Madhya Pradesh on Friday. "MSP regime will not be scrapped," Modi said during his address, adding, "Opposition is lying on MSP issue."

Defending the farm laws, Modi said, "These laws were not brought in overnight. In past 22 years, every government, state has discussed these in detail. Farmer groups, agricultural experts, economists, scientists and progressive farmers have called for reforms. Parties opposing these laws today promised these reforms in their manifestos."

Attacking the Opposition parties, Modi mentioned, "these farm laws were discussed for over two decades by every government but the Opposition resented his government because they would not get credit."

In the new farm laws, Centre has stated that whether the farmer sells his produce in the market or outside, it will be his will, PM Modi said.

"The previous government had purchased about 1700 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers in its five years. Our government has purchased 3000 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers in its five years at MSP," he said during the address.

"These parties are pained today. They are asking themselves, what we couldn't do, how could Modi do? Why should he get credit? My reply to them is - you keep the credit. Even I will give credit to your own manifestos. I don't want credit. I want farmers' lives to improve. Stop misleading farmers," he further said.

"They don't have problem with agri reforms but with Modi. The Opposition parties are just using farmers to do politics to find relevance today, since they have lost their political ground." he added.

"Another lie related to agricultural reforms is being spread about the APMC i.e. our mandis. What have we done in law? We have given the freedom to farmers in law, given them a new option," said Modi. Not a single market has been closed after the new laws, prime minister asserted.

"Then why is this lie being spread? The truth is that our government is spending more than 500 crore rupees on modernising APMC, computerisation of them. Then where did this thing about the closure of APMC come from?" asked PM Modi.

"Another big lie about new agricultural reforms is about the farming agreement. Is there anything new in the farming agreement in the country? No. The farming agreement has been in operation in our country for years," he added.

The prime minister assured that there is no reason for mistrust in the recent agricultural reforms we have done, there is no room for lies.