Rajnath Singh Assists in Resolving Farmers' Issue

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been roped in to assist in finding a resolution to the issues of farmers, particularly from Punjab, who have given a call to march towards the national capital, which has been turned into a fortress with police and other security personnel blocking roads with concrete blocks, barbed wires and tyre-busting spikes.

Talks with the agitating farmers have so far remained inconclusive and Singh, a farmer leader from Uttar Pradesh and former agriculture minister, was sought out on Wednesday to explore a resolution.

Sources said Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda met Singh at the latter's residence and discussed the ongoing farmers' protests and ways to address the issues.

Besides Munda, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal - whose ministry procures foodgrains at government-announced minimum support price - and Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai were to hold talks with the agitating farmer leaders over video conferencing on Wednesday evening but the meeting has now been pushed to Thursday, sources said.

Farmer groups and the ministerial delegation are likely to hold a physical meeting in Chandigarh on Thursday evening.

The meeting between Singh and Munda in the national capital assumes significance against the backdrop of farmers from Punjab marching towards Delhi and Haryana Police using tear gas shells to stop them at the Shambhu border between the two states.

Thousands of farmers, who are seeking a guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) among other demands, started their 'Delhi Chalo' march on Tuesday.

Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells at farmers from Punjab at the Shambhu border as thousands of protesters stayed put there on Wednesday, the second day of their march.

There was a similar standoff at Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Haryana's Jind district, with Haryana Police barricades stopping farmers from travelling to Delhi on their tractor-trolleys.

In an interview with PTI, Munda on Tuesday said a law guaranteeing MSP cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders. He urged farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.

Sources in the BJP attacked the Congress for promising to implement a key recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission report if it is voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha Sabha polls. They slammed the Congress for making the promise to bring in the MSP law in a big show of support to farmers' who started their 'Delhi Chalo' march on Tuesday.

"But in 2010, it (Congress) had rejected Swaminathan Commission recommendations for remunerative prices,” a BJP leader charged.

Sources in the BJP charged that the same Congress did not accept the recommendations by the Swaminathan Commission when it was in power at the Centre.

They cited that Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas, in his written reply to a question asked by BJP member Prakash Javadekar in Rajya Sabha on April 16 2010, had stated that the government did not accept the Swaminathan Commission's recommendation that Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.

"The National Commission on Farmers under the chairmanship of Prof MS Swaminathan has recommended that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production,” Thomas had said in a written reply to the BJP member's question.

"This recommendation, however, has not been accepted by the government because MSP is recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) based on objective criteria and considering a variety of relevant factors” Thomas had said.

"Hence, prescribing an increase of at least 50% on cost may distort the market. A mechanical linkage between MSP and cost of production may be counter-productive in some cases,” Thomas had also said.