Even as farmers from Punjab continue their protest, seeking the legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) on crops from the Union government, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is facing heat from Opposition parties for going back on its “assurance” of procuring crops at the MSP in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly election.
Cornering the AAP on the MSP issue, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress accused the State government of “betraying farmers after coming to power”. The AAP, meanwhile, maintained that the government was doing its best with whatever resources the State had at its disposal.
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Former Minister and senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Sunday said that the AAP had failed to address farmers’ issues even after two years in power. He said that during campaigning for the 2022 Assembly election, AAP leaders had publicly said crops would be procured from farmers at MSPs, but after forming the government, they had not done so. “It’s been two years since the AAP came to power, you still haven’t given MSP! No promises fulfilled,” Mr. Majithia said.
Mr. Majithia referred to an old post by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on social media platform X. “Your boss Arvind Kejriwal also made all these promises. Now, where are those promises? I am sharing your boss Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet of 10/21/20 where he is telling Captain Amarinder [the then Chief Minister of Punjab] to bring MSP law in Punjab. Now you have a government — do it and solve the issue,” he said.
Earlier, the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Congress’ Partap Singh Bajwa, also hit out at the Punjab government. He said that Bhagwant Singh Mann, before becoming the Punjab Chief Minister, had favoured procuring 22 crops at the MSP, but had now back-tracked.
“The farmers have been demanding MSP, so the Punjab Chief Minister must explain what has stopped him from providing MSP. After becoming CM, he persuaded farmers to grow moong (green gram) with the promise to ensure the purchase [of the crop] at the MSP. Contrary to his commitment, he failed to ensure MSP on moong. Approximately 80% of farmers were forced to sell their moong crop below MSP in 2022 and 2023,” Mr. Bajwa alleged.
Punjab AAP’s chief spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang told The Hindu that Union government is the authority on MSP. “The authority on MSP for crops is with the Central government. Whatever resources we have with us, we are doing our best. Last year, we made efforts to procure moong pulse and maize. States don’t have any authority or resources. The AAP government has taken many pro-farmer decisions,” Mr. Kang said.
The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) — the two umbrella bodies of around 200 farmers’ and farm labourer unions — had given the call for the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march as they planned to lay siege to the national capital to press for the fulfilment of their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP. On February 13, as farmers from Punjab arrived at Shambhu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind, the inter-State boundaries between Haryana-Punjab, they were stopped from entering Haryana, where they have been camping since.
