Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat spoke exclusively to The Daily Guardian on the farm bills and how all the controversy has been generated by people who have their own political compulsions. Excerpts:
Q: There’s a lot of uproar over the farm bills that have been passed by Parliament. What message would you like to send to the farmers over this?
A: I want to tell you that work in the Rajya Sabha is going on in a smooth manner. There are some people who have insulted the democratic values, Parliament and its prestige. They even tried to defame the foundations of the House and have tried to break its physical structure. When such individuals, under the set rules and regulations of the law, were suspended from the House, they did not follow the order and created a ruckus during the entire day. In this age of open electronic communication, these individuals have shown their unruly behaviour in front of the world. Why do they want to now come out and further stamp their act?
Q: These leaders are claiming that the passing of the farm bills is a dark day for democracy that will make the lives of all farmers worse?
A: The main individuals who are talking like this are from the Congress. Especially the ones that are from Punjab. I want to ask why the Congress had mentioned the same bill in their manifesto and claimed they would do it if voted to power. And why have they, in Punjab, approved the same bill in 2017? When one writes it in their manifesto and approves it, the bill is good, but when we do it the bill is called a black day for democracy? All of this has never stopped us, we are bound to work for the welfare of the farmers and we have been doing so for the past six years. Without going into individual data, the Central government had the aim to increase MSP by 50% and we have been doing that over the last six years. On average, the MSP has grown by 42% in the last five years. In procurement as well, some commodities have seen growth in multiple values. Even if I were to take an average, it would be about 46%. More than Rs 1.29 lakh crore has reached the farmers because of an increase in MSPs and more than Rs 1.62 lakh crore has reached farmers due to increase in procurement. If we add both together, we will see an 85% increase in the earnings of the farmers. Other than this, thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi, we have sent nearly Rs 75 crore to the houses of farmers directly. We have given crop insurance worth more than Rs 50 crore to farmers. The Kisan Credit Card, introduced by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was increased to Rs 5 crore and even herders have been given the same benefits. We have worked on increasing the irrigation coverage through the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. The government has brought in electronic trading to better the market for the farmers. For the first time, the current government has given a robust infrastructure treatment and has made a scheme to improve the mandis in the country. Organic farming has been given a boost by the government and all of this while the MSP procurement has increased. Finally, the government has also given Rs 1 lakh crore for better post-harvest infrastructure.
Q: If the Central government has done so much, why is the Congress protesting? Why is your own ally, SAD, meeting the President and asking him to stop the Bill?
A: Some are doing this because of their political compulsions; others are doing this to gain what they have lost politically. They did so during the CAA-NRC protests as well and you saw how all of that ended up.
Q: Will this topic become an election issue in Bihar?
A: Of course, it will become one. Even in Bihar, where there was no procurement, the Centre has ensured increased procurement at MSP. Bihar’s farmers, for the happiness of their family and their kids, have received thousands of rupees as help. We will raise this issue in Bihar as to how the BJP has worked to change the lives and destiny of farmers.