New farm group to press for MSP law, months after govt repealed reforms

After the agitation to repeal farm laws, a group of farmers on Tuesday floated a new front to press for their demand for a law for guaranteeing minimum support prices for farm produce.

Raju Shetti, a two-term Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra and leader of the Swabhimani Paksha, said a decision to launch the MSP Guarantee Kisan Morcha was taken at a meeting of various farmers' organizations here.

"We will launch an agitation under the banner of MSP Guarantee Kisan Morcha. In the next six months, we will visit every district in every state to create awareness about MSP," Shetti said after the meeting of farmers' leaders attended by V M Singh from Uttar Pradesh, Rampal Jat from Haryana, Balraj Singh from Punjab, Rajaram Singh from Jharkhand among others.

The leaders decided to push for adopting a resolution by every gram sabha (village council) demanding statutory guarantee for minimum support price for farm produce.

Shetti said the village councils will be urged to send such resolutions to the President of India.

He said a three-day farmers' convention will be held in the capital to announce a nation wide agitation on the issue.

Shetti said the farmers should get MSP for their farm produce on the lines of the Fair Remunerative Price that is fixed by the Centre for payments to cane growers.