Punjab farmers seek more MSP for wheat

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) Hundreds of farmers from Punjab staged a protest march to Parliament today, seeking raising of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat from Rs 650 to Rs 800 per quintal for the coming harvest in order to reduce interest rates and farmers' loans.

Slogan-shouting protesters carrying placards alleged that for decades, particularly from economic liberalisation since 1992, the government had been favouring industry and trade, thereby neglecting the agriculture sector and pushing farmers into a debt trap. The farmers were stopped by police near Jantar Mantar where they staged a rally.

''The farmers will not remain engaged in 'unviable' profession of farming, that sustained 60 per cent population directly, if the government failed to extricate the farmers from debt-morass by reducing the interest rates to four per cent as promised earlier,'' said Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, general secretary of Bharati Kisan Union and sponsor of the protest.

The agitated farmers also demanded that states should be directed to take action against the unscruplous money-lenders under the Anti-Usury Acts, available on their statute books for charging astronomical interests to the tune of 40-60 per cent.

Later, pretesters led by their leader Baldev Singh Mianpur, handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the MSP of crops be determined after taking into account price index of 1967. As per that price index, the MSP of wheat should be fixed at Rs 960 a quintal.

The memorandum also sought employment for the unemployed educated youth in the villages.

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