Farmers protest: Rahul Gandhi says Cong will give legal guarantee of MSP to every farmer

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that the party will give a legal guarantee of MSP to every farmer on all crops. Gandhi's guarantee comes at a time when the 'Delhi Chalo March' is being organised by around 200 farmer unions. Farmers have been demanding the enactment of a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops as per Dr M S Swaminathan Commission’s report.

“Farmer brothers, today is a historic day! Congress has decided to give legal guarantee of MSP to every farmer on crops as per the Swaminathan Commission. This step will change the lives of 15 crore farmer families by ensuring their prosperity. This is the first guarantee of Congress on the path of justice,” Rahul Gandhi said in an X post.

The other demands listed by the farmers are:

> Full debt waiver for farmers and labourers
> Implementation of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. It would include provisions for written consent from farmers before acquisition, and compensation at four times the collector rate
> Punishment for the perpetrators of the October 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri killings
> India should withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and freeze all free trade agreements
> Pensions for farmers and farm labourers
> Compensation for farmers who died during the Delhi protest, including a job for one family member
> Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 should be scrapped
> 200 (instead of 100) days’ employment under MGNREGA per year, daily wage of Rs 700, and scheme should be linked with farming
> Strict penalties and fines on companies producing fake seeds, pesticides, fertilisers; improvements in seed quality
> National commission for spices such as chili and turmeric
> Ensure rights of indigenous peoples over water, forests, and land.

On Tuesday, protesting farmers began to remove the barricades at the Punjab-Haryana (Shambhu) border, following which the Haryana police fired rounds of tear gas to disperse the protestors.  Footage shared by news agency PTI showed that protesters were trying to break through the barricades by lifting away cement blocks placed there to halt the march, as police used drones to fire tear gas rounds into the crowd. Some protesters were also detained. 

Videos also showed farmers jumping concrete barriers to push aside metal barricades, and war zone-like scenes with green fields shrouded in smoke and gun fire (from tear gas guns) in the background. In one video, farmers were seen throwing stones at the police.