Will put pressure on INDIA bloc to implement MSP: Rahul Gandhi after meeting farmers

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with farmer leaders in his office in Parliament House Complex. Pic/PTI

A 12-member delegation of farmer leaders across various states met Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday to apprise the Leader of the Opposition about their issues. The meeting was held at Gandhi's office in Parliament House Complex.

After the meeting, the Raebareli Member of Parliament (MP) emphasised his party's commitment to providing a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the Congress manifesto. "In our manifesto, we have mentioned MSP with a legal guarantee. We have done the assessment and it can be implemented," Rahul Gandhi said while speaking to reporters after his meeting.

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The Congress will rally support from other leaders within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to press the government over this crucial measure so that farmers across the country benefit, added Gandhi.

"We had a meeting where we decided to talk to the other leaders of INDIA to put pressure on the government to give MSP legal guarantee to the farmers," Gandhi said.

Other leaders such as KC Venugopal, Raja Brar, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dharamvir Gandhi, Dr Amar Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda, and Jai Prakash were also present in the meeting.

Earlier, the Congress MP alleged that farmer leaders who were invited by him were not allowed inside the Parliament Complex because they are farmers. Later, the farmer leaders were allowed to come to Parliament only after Gandhi decided to go outside to meet them.

"We had invited them [farmer leaders] here [in Parliament] to meet us. But because they are farmers, maybe they are not being allowed in," he alleged.

Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leaders announced on Monday that they would burn effigies of the Union government across the country and launch a fresh protest to fulfill their demands for legalising the MSP guarantee.

As part of this protest, they will also stage a "long march" to support the private bills by the opposition. Subsequently, the protesting farmers will take out a tractor rally nationwide on August 15, when the country marks Independence Day.

Addressing a press conference, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leaders said that the 'Delhi Chalo' march of the farmers will complete 200 days on August 31 and appealed to people to reach Khanauri and Shambhu on the Punjab and Haryana border.

One rally will be held in Haryana's Jind district on September 15 and another in Pipli on September 22.

In February, the Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi National Highway after unions announced that farmers would march to the national capital to place various demands, including the legal guarantee of MSP for crops.

(With ANI inputs)