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Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said India will not compromise on its national interest amid a volatile geopolitical situation where trade and tariffs have become weapons, and asserted that the country must further strengthen food security without relying on global markets. Addressing the 120th Annual General Meeting of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chouhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that while India believes in being "global brother" and is concerned about the world, the country's interest remains the top priority. "Amid volatile geopolitical situation where nations are fighting with each other, where trade and tariffs are treated as weapons, where nations are ruling the world at their whims.... In such a situation, India has to choose its path. We will not come under pressure of anyone. Protecting our country's interest is our duty and it is necessary for global peace. A responsible country like India should rise," he said. T
The committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP), headed by former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agrawal, has held 45 meetings so far, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday in Rajya Sabha. The committee was established in July 2022, eight months after the government promised to set up such a panel while withdrawing the three contentious farm laws. "Overall, 45 meetings, including 39 sub-committee/ sub-group meetings have been held till date," Chouhan said in his written reply to the Upper House. The minister asserted that the government is committed that the full benefits of MSP reach the farmers of the country. The minister explained that the committee was constituted to give suggestions on making the MSP system more effective and transparent. Additionally, the committee was asked to examine the feasibility of giving greater autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and ways to make it more scientific. "With a view to ensuring higher pric
The government's decision to withdraw 20 per cent customs duty on onion exports effective April 1 will boost farmers' income, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday. "There will be no duty on onion export so that onion grown by our farmers with hard work reaches the global markets, and they can get better price and remunerative price," Chouhan said in a video statement. The minister said the export duty was earlier fixed at 40 per cent, but was reduced to 20 per cent when onion prices started falling and farmers began getting lower returns. "Now, the government has decided that 20 per cent export duty should also be removed completely," he added. According to a notification issued last week by the Finance Ministry, the export duty withdrawal will come into effect from April 1. Chouhan said the Narendra Modi government is "farmer-friendly" and ensuring remunerative prices for farmers is its "priority and commitment". The export duty removal aims to protect domes
The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its earlier order exempting Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from personal appearance before a trial court in connection with a criminal defamation case lodged against him by Congress MP Vivek Tankha. Tankha, also a senior advocate, has alleged that the union minister and BJP state president V D Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh carried out a "coordinated, malicious, false and defamatory" campaign against him for political mileage, accusing him of opposing OBC reservation in the 2021 Panchayat election in Madhya Pradesh. A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal deferred to March 26 the hearing on a plea of Chouhan and two other BJP leaders. The top court was hearing the appeal of Chouhan against the October 25 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court refusing to quash the defamation case. While Chouhan was represented by senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, Tankha was represented by senior lawyer Kapil Si
A controversy has erupted after Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's son, Kartikey, said during a public meeting in bypoll-bound Budhni that "not even a brick will be laid in any village" in case a Congress candidate wins the by-election. A video of his purported statement went viral on social media, inviting criticism from Congress veteran and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh, who advised him to refrain from making such remarks, while Kartikey hit back at him for "not doing anything worthwhile" during his 10 years of chief ministership. By-election will be held in the Budhni assembly seat in the state on November 13. It was necessitated after former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigned after his victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha constituency. Addressing a meeting in Bherunda town in Budhni of Sehore district earlier this week, Kartikey Singh Chouhan said, "Why should we spoil our reputation by tampering with our polling? Don't we need to go to our chief .
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said addressing seemingly minor issues faced by farmers could increase their income by up to 20 per cent. Meeting members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Independent) as part of his 'direct dialogue' (seedha samvad) initiative launched on September 24, Chouhan discussed various challenges affecting the agricultural sector. Asserting that the service of farmers is the worship of God, Chouhan said: "....These problems may seem small, but solving them can increase farmers' income by 10 to 20 per cent." In the meeting, BKU representatives raised concerns about contaminated factory water and ways to replace burnt transformers in short time, an official statement said. Discussion covered reducing crop costs, ensuring fair prices, and preventing waterlogging. Besides, use of excessive pesticide, its impact on health, and access to government schemes like PM Fasal Bima Yojana were discussed. Quality seeds and pesticides were provid
Madhya Pradesh's longest-serving chief minister and BJP stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to play an important role in national politics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling an election rally recently that he wanted to "take him to Delhi (Centre)". Chouhan, who was the chief minister from 2005 to 2023, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from his stronghold Vidisha, an ancient city incidentally located on the Bhopal-Delhi train route. The BJP candidate is up against Pratap Bhanu Sharma, a Congressman who won the seat in 1980 and 1984 on the back of the post-Emergency Indira Gandhi juggernaut and later, the sympathy wave caused by her death. These were the only two occasions when the Congress won the seat since it was created in 1967. Speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Harda on April 24, Modi praised Chouhan saying the two had served together in the party organisation and also as chief ministers. "When Shivraj went to Parliament, I was working together as general ...
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday claimed that if the ED was stopped and section 45 of the PMLA abolished, no one would cross over to the BJP and its leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje may form their own political outfits. Chouhan and Raje were overlooked by the BJP for the chief minister posts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively despite ensuring the party's return to power in the assembly polls held recently. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge by his side, Kejriwal responded to a question on opposition leaders joining the BJP, saying, "Today, if the ED (Enforcement Directorate) is stopped and section 45 of the PMLA (The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act) is abolished, half of the BJP leaders will quit the party." "There is only one agency (ED) which is responsible for leaders joining the BJP. No one will join the BJP if PMLA section 45 is removed. Leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje may form their own parties by the ...
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was on Wednesday unanimously elected as the speaker of the Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly. The first session of the newly-elected assembly began on Monday. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday moved a proposal for the election of 66-year-old Tomar as the speaker which was seconded by leader of opposition Umang Singhar. Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also moved a proposal for the election of Tomar as the speaker which was seconded by ex-Union minister Prahlad Patel, who recently won from Narsinghpur assembly seat in the state. Five more proposals, including by opposition Congress MLAs Ajay Singh, Jaivardhan Singh and Rajendra Kumar Singh, were also moved in favour of Tomar. After the voice vote, pro-tem speaker Gopal Bhargava declared Tomar as elected unanimously to the speaker's post. Tomar filed his nomination for the speaker's post on Monday with the support of the opposition Congress. Chief