MSP hike 'historic', says BJP in Bihar; JD(U) feels there is scope for more

The ruling JD(U) in Bihar today hailed the Narendra Modi government's decision to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops though it pointed out that the demand of farmers' bodies to effect changes in the "disputed" system of determining production cost was yet to be fulfilled.

"The Janata Dal (United) welcomes the Centre's decision to increase the MSP for kharif crops. The move is likely to mitigate the despondency prevailing among the country's farmers and result in a boost in agricultural production," the party's national general secretary and chief spokesman K C Tyagi said in a statement.

"The Centre has fulfilled the budgetary promise of providing MSP that would be 1.5 times that of production cost. However, the determination of production cost itself remains disputed with farmers' bodies insisting that it be fixed by adopting the Swaminathan formula that takes into account the rentals for land," he said.

"For a government, that has promised to double the incomes of farmers by 2022, addressing this issue squarely could have been a decisive step. Nevertheless, this year's announcement has filled the farmers with hopes for a better future," Tyagi, whose party is headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said.

Meanwhile, at a joint press conference, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and state BJP president Nityanand Rai termed as "historic" the hike in MSP approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We thank and congratulate the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Bihar, especially the farmers, for this special gift that comes at an opportune time. It is an important step in the direction of fulfilling the promise of doubling the farmers' incomes by 2022 and transform the agrarian scenario in the country," they said.