Central Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today in Rajya Sabha said that the government is committed to forming MSP Panel. The Election commission of India has said that the MSP panel can be formed after the assembly polls are over. MSP panel was promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while announcing the repeal of three farm laws that has drawn major criticism and one of the longest protest against the Central Government. The committee promised will discuss the farmer’s demand for a legal guarantee on MSP.
Central Minister was replying to a supplementary question during the question hour of Rajya Sabha. He said the government has written to the Election Committee in view of assembly elections in the five states. The election commission suggested that a panel can only be constituted after the assembly elections. He said that the entire country is aware of the fact that the Prime Minister has announced the formation of a committee that will consider natural farming, crop diversification, and effective & transparent MSP. He added that the government is committed to fulfilling the promise made by Prime Minister.
EC said the MSP committee should be concluded after elections
The agriculture minister informed Rajya Sabha in response to a supplementary question asked during the question hour. He said that since elections are going to be conducted in five states, we have asked for guidance from the Election commission of India. Election Commission has replied that a committee must be formed after the assembly elections. Notably, the election commission has announced assembly elections in five states UP, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur. The result for all states will be announced on 10th March 2022.
The question related to this topic was raised by a member of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Prasamma Acharya. BJD member has asked in question if the government is considering bringing a bill in this house to provide a legal guarantee to MSP. It is important to note that Mr. Tomar has said that there is no such mechanism to define MSP and make farming profitable (in 2018).