The Congress on Monday accused Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of “lying” and “misleading” the Rajya Sabha while replying to the discussion on his ministry and said it will make a case of breach of privilege against him.
AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the entire opposition, under the leadership of Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, boycotted the agriculture minister’s remarks in the Rajya Sabha and walked out as the Modi government’s policies and actions are “anti-farmer”.
Millions of farmers are suffering, and the Modi government is intent on “sacrificing” them, Surjewala said.
“Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s lie was caught red handed because Modi government gave an affidavit in the Supreme Court on February 6, 2015, saying that cost + 50 per cent cannot be given to the farmers of the country because this will spoil the market,” he said at a media briefing.
Agriculture Minister Chouhan admitted on the floor of the House that the government buys crops at MSP only whenever the need arises which means that the government accepted that it does not buy the farmer’s crops at MSP because it does not consider it necessary, he said.