Madhya Pradesh farmers' strike: Unrest in Mandsaur 'should not be seen in isolation', says Bhupinder Hooda

Chandigarh: Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said the farmer unrest in Mandsaur ‘should not be seen in isolation’ as there is anger among cultivators because the BJP retracted on its poll promise to implement the Swaminathan Commission report. “When hard working farmers, who meet the food needs of this nation, ask for their due, they are fired at and five of them are killed in police firing, in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_3531781” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bhupinder Singh Hooda. CNN-News18[/caption] “This incident should not be seen in isolation as farmers of the country are up in arms against this government, which has gone back on fulfilling its poll promise to implement Swaminathan Commission report,” Hooda told reporters in Chandigarh. “It is not the question of farmers of Madhya Pradesh alone. There is anger among the farming community across the country,” Hooda, who was also the chairman of the Working Group on Agriculture Production during the previous Congress led UPA government, said. He called for urgent steps to fix the MSP (minimum support price) of crops in line with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. Hooda urged the central government to intervene immediately to resolve the “crisis” gripping the farming community across the country. Hitting out at the BJP government, he said, “they promised to double the farmers’ income by 2022, but they hesitate when it comes to implement the Commission’s report”. “The BJP is in the habit of creating illusion in people’s minds,” he added. Hooda said that he will be the first one to welcome if the government implements the Swaminathan Commission report. The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan, in its final report had said: “The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production. “The key to resolving the farmers’ problems in the country lies in the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report,” the two time former chief minister said.