Updated: December 10, 2020 4:08:42 pm
Dushyant Chautala. (Archive)
Breaking his silence on the ongoing farmer unrest, Haryana Senior Deputy Minister Dushyant Chautala said Thursday that the Center has accepted farmers’ demand to ensure minimum support price (MSP) in writing and it is now up to the agricultural unions to decide on this.
Speaking to the media after receiving Prime Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his cabinet colleagues for lunch at his residence in Chandigarh, Dushyant said: “The farmers’ demand that the Union government must guarantee the MSP in writing is met yesterday. Uske upar unki unions ka kya nirnaya hoga, voh toh movement unki ki baat hai (It is up to your movement to decide what your opinion is on the government’s proposal) ”.
Responding to questions about various JJP leaders speaking on behalf of farmers, Dushyant said: “I am also saying that I am a farmer first. When did I deny that? But it is our responsibility to ensure that the farmer obtains an adequate price for his harvest. “
Dushyant Chautala breaks the silence on the farmers’ protest. pic.twitter.com/4x5TRZS8jd
– The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 10, 2020
“Our government, even in the last acquisition and this acquisition, has made sure that every penny from the farmers’ produce goes into their bank accounts. Even Punjab has not been able to do so to date. Rajasthan could not even begin the process. We are ensuring that we will acquire the harvest in the future and we will also put all the money in the farmer’s bank account. We hope that when the MSP arrives in writing, the demands that farmers from other states are raising will also be met, ”he added. Follow updates from Farmers Protest LIVE
On Wednesday, the Center sent a 20-page proposal to agitators agricultural unions, offering significant concessions ranging from a written assurance on continuation of MSP-based acquisitions and ensure parity in transactions inside and outside the existing mandis of the Agricultural Products Market Committee (APMC). However, farmers’ unions rejected the proposals, several of which will require amending two of the new laws, the government said.
Speaking about the ongoing agitation by farmers at various borders in Delhi, Dushyant said the Haryana government was ensuring that law and order were upheld at the protest sites. More than 1,000 civil administration employees, as well as doctors and health personnel, Red Cross personnel and sanitation workers worked 24 hours a day to ensure the safety of the farmers who have gathered at those sites, he said.
He also reiterated his previous position where he had said that if the MSP was abolished, he would resign from the government.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar stood firm in his support for the contentious new agricultural laws, saying: “We are sourcing the harvest at MSP in Haryana. Also in the near future, acquisitions will be made at MSP. In the congressional government, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had also agreed with the MSP. We always think about the well-being of farmers. Rather, the Congress walked away from the discussion at the Vidhan Sabha ”.
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