New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday hit back at the opposition parties for accusing the BJP of ignoring farmers' interests and said it was the AAP government in Punjab which evicted the farmers agitating at the state's border with Haryana.

Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Demands for Grants of the Agriculture Ministry, the minister said the opposition tried to paint the BJP in poor light in addressing the issues raised by the farmers but failed miserably.

He listed a number of initiatives, including access to credit and crop insurance, taken by the central government for the farm sector and asserted that every effort would be made to ensure farmers' welfare.

"They dug up a mountain only to find a dead rat," Chouhan said, contending that the opposition's attempts to portray the BJP as anti-farmer had come a cropper.

"Have we been friends with AAP? You were walking arm-in-arm till the Lok Sabha elections. You were together and you are accusing us," Chouhan said, referring to the eviction of the agitating farmers by the Punjab government earlier this week.

Samajwadi Party members walked out of the House, contending that their demand for more time for discussion was not acceded to by the chair.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the time for the debate was fixed in a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, which had also decided to put the demands for grants of departments to vote at 6:00 pm, time that was sacrosanct, as per Parliamentary procedures.

Participating in the debate, opposition members such as Charanjit Singh Channi and Jai Prakash (both Congress) and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party) accused the BJP-led central government of betraying farmers and claimed that it had failed to fulfil its promise on minimum support price (MSP) and was suppressing the ongoing farmers' agitation.

Their comments came after the Punjab Police on Wednesday detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, as they were returning from a meeting with a central ministerial delegation led by Chouhan in Chandigarh.

Chouhan said the previous Congress-led government made excuses for not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report that recommended fixing MSP for farm produce after calculating 50 per cent profit for farmers over the cost of production.

Waving a Cabinet note of the agriculture ministry under the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Chouhan said the then Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Sharad Pawar and KV Thomas were not in favour of implementing the recommendations on MSP for farm produce.

"Between 2004 and 2014, the Congress-led government allocated Rs 1.51 lakh crore for agriculture in Union budgets. We have made a provision of Rs 10.75 lakh crore in the last 10 years," Chouhan said.

"We are committed to the welfare of farmers. If the leader is visionary, has the target of public service, has a roadmap and implements it, then miracles happen, as witnessed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government," he said.

He dubbed the strategies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for the farm sector as "Modi Sutra" and asserted that initiatives such as introduction of climate resistant seed varieties, soil health cards, micro irrigation schemes, and balanced use of fertilisers had led to increase in farm production.

Chouhan said foodgrain production was 265.05 million tonnes in 2013-14 when the UPA was in power, increasing to 330.92 million tonnes under the government led by Modi.

"Procurement of crops is done through state governments. If the state government asks for permission, then the central government gives permission. We will never hesitate in giving permission for procuring farm produce at a fair price," the agriculture minister said.

Opposition members also sought clarity from the Centre on reports that it had allowed duty-free imports of US agriculture and dairy products and warned that such a move could severely impact Indian farmers.

DMK MP TM Selvaganapathi slammed the Centre for reversing India's long-standing policy of reducing dependence on US wheat imports.

"Thanks to the Green Revolution led by our forefathers, especially MS Swaminathan and Dr C Subramaniam, India overcame its dependence on PL-480 wheat imports from the US. But now, the government is reversing that trend," he charged.

The Salem MP also sounded alarm over reports that the government had agreed to allow duty-free imports of agriculture and dairy products from the US.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Amol Ramsing Kolhe pointed to the disparity between US and Indian farmers, particularly in soybean production.

"After the change of power in the US, they are demanding that India open its agriculture market. This poses a major crisis for our farmers but the government has not given any clarity on this matter," Kolhe said. PTI SKU SKU SZM SZM