Controversy broke when Kumar rebutted Tyagi saying everyone in the House was concerned over farmers' issues and he should not consider himself as if he was their only custodian.
Participating a discussion on farmers' issues, Tyagi had charged ministries and departments with doing little to tackle the agrarian crisis caused by unseasonal rains. He also alleged how Congress and BJP conveniently unite for protecting interests of corporates to pass hike in FDI in insurance sector, on issues of globalization and can even sit together at World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, but there was no unanimity between the two main parties on implementing M S Swaminathan's recommendation for fixing minimum support price (MSP) of farm produce.
Swaminathan had suggested that the MSP should be 50% higher than that of the farmer's total investment. Tyagi also alleged that only 20% of farm produce are being procured by government agencies with the rest being sold in the market. "This is minimum government and maximum bazaar," he alleged.
During his speech, Tyagi had also questioned whether the fertilizer minister had ever done farming, to which Ananth Kumar objected.
Kumar withdrew his words after deputy chairman P J Kurien expunged it. The minister said he had made the observation when Tyagi talked with such tone and tenor. "If members have objection to that word, I will take it back and I take back," Kumar said amid the din
Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal said the government must come out with some solution or relief for farmers. He suggested the setting up of a farmers' bank that can provide loans at negligible interest rate and also waiver of farm loans or at least the interest among the measures that could be taken.
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