Punjab not on MSP panel, Centre bashed

Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday slammed the Centre for not giving the state a representation in the committee formed on minimum support price (MSP).

AAP leader and the party's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha alleged the exclusion of Punjab from the MSP panel was "deliberate" and termed it an "insult" to the people of the state.

In a tweet, Mann said, "Punjab's farmers are already stuck in crop cycle and debt. MSP is our legal right... The Centre should ensure representation of Punjab in the MSP committee."

AAP MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney asked the Centre to include a Punjab government representative and experts from the Punjab Agriculture University in the committee.

It is "a well-known fact" that the highest procurement under MSP is done in Punjab but it is "intriguing" how the state has been left out in such an important committee and the commission, Sahney added. The Centre has formed a committee on MSP, eight months after promising one. Famer unions have condemned the panel, saying its members are those who supported the now-repealed three farm laws.

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