Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Friday hit out at the Opposition for accusing BJP of ignoring farmers’ the interest and said that it was the CM Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government in Punjab which evicted protesting farmers from the state’s border with Haryana. Replying to a debate in Lok Sabha on the Demands for Grants of the Agriculture Ministry, Chouhan said, “Have we been friends with AAP? You were walking arm-in-arm till the Lok Sabha elections. You were together and you are accusing us.” On Wednesday, the Punjab Police evicted farmers who have been protesting for over a year from key border sites along the Punjab-Haryana boundary, specifically at Shambhu and Khanauri. The farmers’ demand was primarily centered around a legal guarantee for MSP, among other grievances directed at both state and the Centre. Soon after, the Punjab Police detained farm leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal. Listing the initiatives of the PM Narendra Modi-led government for the farmers, including access to credit and crop insurance, Chouhan said the Opposition attempted to cast the BJP in a poor light when it came to farmers’ issues, but “they dug up a mountain only to find a dead rat.” Meanwhile, SP members walked out of the House, contending that their demand for more time for discussion was not acceded to by the Chair. Speaker Om Birla said the time for the debate was fixed in a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, which was sacrosanct as per Parliamentary procedures. Participating in the debate, Congress MPs Charanjit Singh Channi and Jai Prakash and SP MP Dharmendra Yadav accused the Centre of betraying farmers and claimed that it had failed to fulfill its promise of MSP and was suppressing the ongoing agitation. In Lok Sabha, Chouhan said that the previous Congress-led government made excuses for not implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. Waving a Cabinet note of the Agriculture Ministry under the previous UPA government, Chouhan said the then Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Sharad Pawar and K V Thomas were not in favour of implementing the recommendations on MSP. “Between 2004 and 2014, the Congress-led government allocated `1.51 lakh crore for agriculture in Union Budgets. We have made a provision of `10.75 lakh crore in the last 10 years. We are committed to farmers’ welfare. If the leader is visionary, has the target of public service, has a roadmap and implements it, then miracles happen, as witnessed under PM Narendra Modi’s government,” said Chouhan. He said that initiatives such as introduction of climate resistant seed varieties, soil health cards, and balanced use of fertilisers had led to an increase in farm production. He said food grain production was 265.05 million tonnes in 2013-14 in UPA rule, which increased to 330.92 million tonnes under the NDA government.
