Varun Gandhi submits draft MSP Bill to Parliament, suggests 50% profit & crop variation

Batting for the farmers, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday, shared a draft MSP Bill which has been submitted to parliament for scrutiny. The MP took to Twitter to share the legislation and welcomed any critique of it. Gandhi's draft suggests MSP at 50% profit margin of production cost, codification of crops, payment within 2 days, sept dept for MSP.

Varun Gandhi drafts MSP Bill, send to parliament for scrutiny

Here are the draft provisions of the Bill:

• Realisation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) of 22 agricultural commodities with outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore
• MSP set at 50% profit margin over cost of production and any farmer realising below MSP is entitled to compensation equal of difference in value
• Codification of various crops on quality parameters, provision of agricultural credit in lieu of crop storage
• Farmers will be guaranteed of realising MSP with timely payment, directly to their bank accounts in 2 days from transaction date
• Encourages crop diversification to be cultivated for each sub-district, reducing the environmental cost of agriculture
• Price announcements to be made 2 months before harvest season
• A separate dept under Ministry of Agriculture for implementing the law headed by a separate decision making body consisting of - farmer representatives, public officials and experts
• Establish well-equipped procurement centres (one for every 5 villages), creating supply-chain infrastructure
• Dispute resolution within 30 days

Varun Gandhi bats for farmers

Previously, Gandhi had written to Adityanath seeking a hike in sugarcane prices from the announced Rs 350/quintal to Rs 400/quintal citing rising cost and inflation. Standing by the farmers, he said that they were hoping for an increased price as they are living in misery due to a raise in seeds, fertilizer, and power costs. Gandhi has also urged the Centre to understand the protesting farmers' pain and start re-engaging with them in a respectful manner. After the Lakhimpur violence, he also  wrote to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, demanding an SC-monitored CBI probe into it, demanding murder charge against accused and Rs 1 crore compensation for the victims. He also lamented the loss of 700 farmers in the protest, demanding compensation for them and rebuked the Centre for not repealing the laws earlier.

Recently, Gandhi has been rebuking the Centre and UP over farmer issues, UP police's excessive action, rise in crime, trashing of teachers - months ahead of UP polls. Gandhi - a Lok Sabha MP since 2009, was appointed as BJP's general secretary - the youngest to hold that position in the party. However, he gradually started losing his prominence after the saffron party came to power at the Centre in 2014. His camp's attempt to project him as BJP's UP CM candidate in 2017 reportedly did not go down well with the party leadership. Later, he and  his mother Maneka Gandhi was dropped from the reconstituted 80-member BJP National Executive.