Agriculture minister Chouhan, Opposition spar over legal guarantee to MSP

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha witnessed a ruckus on Friday with the Opposition demanding a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) and Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accusing the Congress of doing politics in the name of farmers.

The trouble began during the Question Hour, when Chouhan listed steps taken by the government for the welfare of farmers and spoke about the committee looking into strengthening the MSP system but did not mention a legal guarantee for MSP.

Congress MPs, including Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh, protested after the minister’s remark, saying his reply was incomplete.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar tried to diffuse the situation, saying the minister had given a detailed reply and if the members were not satisfied, they should use available avenues to seek answers. He also threatened to name members for disrupting the House.

Opposition members, however, refused to relent and continued to shout slogans, disrupting the proceedings.