A beleaguered Modi govt, in the wake of farmers’ suicides and opposition bid to politicize it, has drawn solace from Dr M S Swaminathan words, who in a write-up in a daily lauded the NDA govt for its efforts to improve the lot of farmers in the country.
Swaminathan said that the Modi govt has taken several decisions to improve the status and income of farmers in the last four years while there was little action on the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) during UPA rule.
This was music to Agricultural Ministry’s ears which hastened to issue a PIB release patting itself on the back. Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on several occasions the questions have been raised about the Modi Government’s inaction on the National Commission on Farmers (NCF).
The PIB release quotes Swaminathan saying in the article “Although the NCF report was submitted in 2006, very little action was taken until the present government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office. Fortunately over the last four years, several significant decisions have been taken to improve the status and income of farmers.”
The Union Agriculture Minister again quoted Swaminathan on the issue of hike in MSP. Praising the decision of the government, Dr Swaminathan said “The recent announcement of a remunerative price based essentially on the recommendation of NCF is a very important step to ensure the economic viability of farming.
Some of the government’s critics, especially Congress, dubbed the announcement as an eyewash and not meeting the expectations of the farming community. Some had even questioned the formula for arriving at the MSP.
Dr M S Swaminathan is held in high esteem for his great contributions to the country’s green revolution. Swaminathan also won the 1971 Ramon Magsaysay Award.
NCF was set up in 2004 by the then National Democratic Alliance Government under him. The NCF submitted its report in 2006 (when the United Democratic Alliance government under Manmohan Singh was in power) and until 2014 very little action had been taken over the recommendations.