‘PM Modi promised doubling of farmers’ income by 2022, but…’: All India Kisan Congress

A farmer is seen working in his wheat field. (PTI photo)

By Supriya Bhardwaj: The All India Kisan Congress hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the party’s claim of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. They alleged that the farmers’ income had, in fact, come down during the NDA regime.

“In February 2016, PM Modi had promised the doubling of farmers’ income in year 2022. What to speak of doubling their income, if the inflation is accounted for, the farmers’ income has actually reduced during these years”, All India Kisan Congress chairman Sukhpal Singh Khaira said, quoting the National Sample Survey of 2018.

Khaira added that it was actually the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014 which had “more than doubled the farmers’ income”.

He said the Minimum Support Price (MSP) is one of the basic parameters for determining the income of farmers, adding that the UPA government doubled the MSP for wheat and paddy, two main crops, within eight years of coming to power.

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Giving official figures for the MSP, the Kisan Congress chairman said in 2004, when the UPA led by Manmohan Singh took over, the MSP for wheat was Rs 640 per quintal and it went up to Rs 1285 per quintal in 2011-2012 and Rs. 1400 per quintal for 2013-14 season. Similarly, the MSP for paddy in 2004 was Rs 560 per quintal, which went to Rs 1310 per quintal in 2013-14.

In strong contrast, Khaira said, from the BJP government’s own admission, the MSP for both paddy and wheat did not increase by more than 50 per cent during their regime.

“After Independence, Modi government is the first government of India which imposed GST on pesticides, fertilisers and farm appliances, yet a meager increase in MSP was affected by it. Who actually doubled the farmers' income?” he asked, while remarking, “doubling the farmers’ income was another epic ‘jumla’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

The farmers’ leader said the farmers also faced the double whammy in terms of increase in input costs like diesel. He pointed out that the prices of diesel in May 2014 were Rs 55.48 per litre, while in December 2022 it is Rs 89.62 per litre, which means the diesel prices have increased to about 61 per cent. This, he added, was despite crude oil prices falling substantially in the international market.

“On May 26, 2014, when the Congress was voted out of power and the Modi government came, the price of crude oil was USD 108 per barrel. In December 2022, the average is USD 77.99 per barrel, which is about 28 per cent lower as compared to May 2014 prices”, he said, while adding, “ but the government is not passing on the benefit to the farmers and common man”.

Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the non-fulfilment of his promise of doubling farmers' income by 2022, the All India Kisan Congress leader asked him what happened to the recommendations of the committee set up for the purpose in 2016.

“The government of India constituted a Doubling of Farmers’ Income Committee (DFIC) in 2016 which submitted its report in 2018 and that report is still gathering dust in the corridors of power”, he disclosed, while alleging that the government had no intention of doubling the farmers' income and only wanted to fool people.

“What to speak of doubling the farmers’ income, the National Sample Survey of the Government of India revealed during 2018 that the farmers’ income had actually declined and this report was pushed under the carpet”, Khaira claimed. He further asked the government to make public the findings of the NSS survey of 2018.

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