New Delhi, July 24 :
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met a farmers’ delegation from the two organisations — Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) — at his office in the Parliament, and held discussion on the issue of legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).
After the meeting, Gandhi told reporters, “In our manifesto, we have mention about MSP with legal guarantee. We have thoroughly assessed it and this can be implemented. We had a meeting and it was decided that we will discuss with the leaders of INDIA bloc to put pressure on the Government that the farmers should be given legal guarantee for MSP.”
Meanwhile, the farmers said that they had a discussion on MSP legal guarantee and Rahul Gandhi assured them that he will talk to the INDI alliance leaders on this issue.
The delegation comprised of farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The meeting was also attended by Congress MPs
Rahul meets farmers’
including KC Venugopal, Raja Brar, Jairam Ramesh, Charnajeet Singh Channi and Deepender Singh Hooda.
Earlier, the former Congress President alleged that the farmer leaders who had sought appointment to meet him in the Parliament were denied permission.
Rahul said, “I had invited the leaders for a meeting inside the Parliament but they are not being allowed. We were told that they can’t come inside, may be, because they are farmers. We were not given any reason. I think you (media) can ask the Prime Minister about the reason”.
But after some time, the farmer leaders were granted permission to enter the Parliament.
The meeting comes a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.
Terming the Budget 2024–25 as discriminatory, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday that the INDIA bloc members would protest against the Budget.
Kharge claimed that other than Andhra Pradesh and Bihar (the two states ruled by crucial allies of the BJP) no other states have got anything in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on July 23.
The LoP said that the budget was only aimed at pleasing the allies.
“No state other than the two has got anything in the budget. Sabka thali khali hain aur sirf do ke thali me jalebi aur pakoda hai (Other than two states, everyone else’s plates are empty. Only in the plates of the two, there are jalebis and pakodas),” Kharge said.
“We condemn and protest against the budget,” he further said.
Responding to the remarks of the senior Congress leader, FM Sitharaman dismissed the charges and stated that schemes announced in the budget would benefit people from all states.
Following the remarks of the LoP, members of the opposition staged a walk-out from the Upper House.
The Rajya Sabha is scheduled to hold a general discussion on the Union Budget for 20 hours.
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