Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday characterised the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi as politically motivated.
Addressing reporters in Udupi, she said the M S Swaminathan committee had given 207 recommendations in its report, which was kept in “deep cold storage” by the UPA government. She claimed that all the recommendations were addressed by the Narendra Modi government alone, and minimum support price (MSP) was one among them. “The government is now providing MSP for 22 crops. The ongoing agitation when elections are drawing near is a political protest in the name of farmers,” she alleged.
“This is part of a conspiracy by a few organisations and international movements,” she further claimed, adding that the government is prepared to hold talks with the farmers. On her candidature in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Karandlaje said she will be contesting again from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency, unless the party decides otherwise.
She said her name is being proposed for at least five to six constituencies. “But Udupi-Chikkamagaluru remains my constituency,” she said.