Congress to organise 'awareness' meetings in Rajasthan to strengthen farmers protest

Jaipur: The Congress will organise awareness meetings at the panchayat level in Rajasthan to "strengthen" the farmers' movement for a legal guarantee on MSP, party leader Ashok Chandna said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, the former minister and party MLA said that the dates of the campaign will be announced soon.

"The Congress has decided that in order to awaken the farmers of Rajasthan, 'Kisan Jagrat Sammelan' will be organised at the panchayat level. The real face of the BJP should be exposed. Kisan Andolan should be strengthened. A 'guarantee law' should be made by the Centre," Chandna said.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' stir by farmers, mainly from Punjab, to press the government to accept their demands which include that the Centre should give a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

The Congress leader said that in 2011, PM Narendra Modi, as Gujarat chief minister and chairman of a working group, had submitted a report to the then prime minister Manmohan Singh recommending that MSP should be ensured to farmers through legal provisions.

"The people of the country made Narendra Modi the prime minister of India, but today farmers are suffering. How is he behaving today on the demand for MSP," the Congress leader said.

He alleged that in Rajasthan, less wheat was procured against the target by the Centre during the year 2022-23 "because there were assembly elections in Rajasthan and Congress was ruling the state".

"Because the Congress was ruling Rajasthan, farmers were punished for this," he said.

On PM's 'guarantee', he said that it was the Congress-led UPA government that provided "guarantees of employment, education, information and food security" after which Modi made the guarantee word his "new jumla".