*SKM expressed surprise on the statement of Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar, it seems that the government has not read our letter for three weeks*

*Govt is refraining from answering SKM’s queries regarding the proposed committee on MSP* ,Why?

*SKM has refused to give names for the committee until it is clear who will be on this committee, what it will do and how it will work*

Samyukta Kisan Morcha has expressed surprise over the statement of Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Tomar in which he said that the government is awaiting names from the SKM for setting up a committee on MSP. On being asked by the Government of India, Samyukta Kisan Morcha had sent its reply on 24 March itself, which was sent again on 30 March.  (That email is being attached again). The Morcha had issued a press release on 1 April on this subject, which was also discussed a lot in the media.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha once again wishes to put these facts in front of the public. On March 22, Mr. Yudhveer Singh, a member of the SKM Coordination Committee, received a call from the then Agriculture Secretary, Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, inviting two to three names from the SKM for the committee constituted by the Government of India. But it was not clear from this oral message that who else would be included in this committee, what would be its mandate and tenure and how it would work.

SKM in an email to Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal on 24 March (12:08 PM on 25 March) requested the following clarifications:

 1. What will be the TOR (Terms of Reference) of this committee?

 2. Apart from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which other organisations, persons and functionaries will be involved in this committee?

 3. Who will be the chairman of the committee and what will be its functioning?

 4. How much time will the committee get to submit its report?

 5. Will the recommendation of the committee be binding on the government?

This email was resent on 30 March. So that there would be no excuse in this regard, on April 1, we made this letter public through the press. But today, even after three weeks, we have not received any answer to these questions.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha urges the Agriculture Minister to send the government’s clarification on these points at the earliest so that the Morcha can decide whether to participate in this committee. Deliberately spreading confusion among the public without answering these questions raises questions on the intention of the government. Morcha again clarifies that unless we are fully aware of the nature and agenda of this committee, it will not be worthwhile to participate in any such committee.