Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the Congress would have implemented the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission if the party was serious about welfare of farmers.
He also alleged that the former UPA government kept sitting on the recommendations of the commission for 10 years.
"The country is witness to the fact that the Congress has always adopted an anti-farmer policy. During the 10 years of UPA government, when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister, M S Swaminathan had recommended to increase minimum support price (MSP). But, the Congress government kept sitting on the recommendations," Tomar told reporters at Jaipur airport.
His comments come after the Congress alleged that the MSP of Kharif crops announced by the Centre for 2022-23 were meagre and far below the rate of inflation.
"If the Congress government had thought about the welfare of farmers, it would have implemented the recommendations in 10 years,” the minister said.
Tomar said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge of the government at the Centre and accepted the recommendations, MSP is being given to farmers after adding 50 per cent profit on the input cost of any cereal.
He said the MSP is rising continuously and so is the production and government procurement of crops.
Earlier, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "The fraud of support price announced by Modi government has been exposed. Once again the Modi government has betrayed the farmers of the country in declaring the support price of Kharif crops for 2022-23. Far from increasing the income of farmers, their pain has increased a hundred times."
On shifting of Rajasthan Congress MLAs to a resort ahead of the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls, the Union minister said, "It is strange that the Congress MLAs have remained in hotels for more hours than in the state assembly."
He said as far as the selection of candidates for the Rajya Sabha poll is concerned, the ruling Congress in Rajasthan has come up with such names who do not have any connect with the people of the state.
-With PTI Input
