Badal to meet PM for remunerative MSP for farmers

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday said he would soon meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek his personal intervention for ensuring remunerative MSP to farmers.Interacting with the mediapersons on the sidelines of a function here on Tuesday,Badal bemoaned that due to escalating cost of farming inputs and excessive centralisation of policies by the Union government, agriculture was no longer a profitable venture.

He said as a result of such regressive policies of successive Union governments, the hard-working farmers were on the verge of economic disaster.

Badal categorically said the ongoing agrarian crisis in the country could jeopardize the food security of the nation if timely action was not taken by the Centre.

The Chief Minister said that he would soon meet Modi and urge him to take immediate steps for evolving a mechanism so that farmers could be provided remunerative MSP.Recalling that this issue was part of BJP's manifesto for the general elections, he said it was imperative for the NDA government to take necessary action in this regard.

"I am confident that a visionary and dynamic leader like Modi will take the necessary action for ensuring the welfare of food growers of the country," he said.When asked about the spectacular victory of BJP in the recent Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, Badal expressed happiness.

Reiterating the firm commitment of SAD-BJP alliance government to ensure overall development of the state, the Chief Minister said that due to the stupendous efforts of the state government, Punjab has today emerged as a frontrunner state of the country.

Badal further said that Punjab being a welfare state was providing free power to its farmers at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore, in order to bail them out from the agrarian crisis.

Likewise, he said that thrust was also being given for ensuring the well-being of weaker sections of the society, for which free Atta-Dal was being given to them.