Is Bharat Ratna to Swaminathan ploy to conceal Centre's anti-farmer stance? Sharad Pawar group

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar has claimed the Narendra Modi government bestowed the Bharat Ratna on eminent agricultural scientist late Dr MS Swaminathan to divert attention from its anti-farmer stance.

One of the main demands of the farm outfits protesting currently is the implementation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism based on the formula of Swaminathan but the Centre was unwilling to implement it, NCP's Sharad Pawar faction national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said on Sunday.

"It is more than two weeks since the current farmers' protest started. The farmers have been stopped by the government from entering Delhi and placing their demands. They protested in 2020-21 too and after many lives were lost, the government took back the three farm laws as demanded by the farmers," Crasto said in a statement.

The Union government's move to give Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, to Swaminathan was to divert the attention from its anti-farmer stance, he claimed.

If the BJP truly believes in the move to give the Bharat Ratna to Swaminathan, then it should also implement his MSP formula for the welfare of farmers, Crasto added.