New Delhi, December 3 (IANS). Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has questioned why talks are not taking place with the farmers.
During a program on Tuesday, he told Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who was present on the stage, “Agriculture Minister, every moment is important for you. I request you, and as the person holding the second highest position under the Constitution of India, I urge you to please tell me, whether any promise was made to the farmers, and why that promise was not kept. What are we doing to fulfill the promise. There was agitation last year too, this year too there is agitation, and time is going on, but we are not doing anything.”
The Vice President said, “Agriculture Minister, I am feeling pain. My concern is why this initiative has not been taken till now. You are the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. I remember Sardar Patel, he had the responsibility of uniting the country, he fulfilled it very well. This challenge is before you today, and do not consider it less than the unity of India. Talks should be held immediately with the farmers, and we all should know whether any promises were made to the farmers. Agriculture Minister, did the previous Agriculture Ministers give any written promise? If it did, what happened to it?”
Drawing attention towards the agitating farmers, he said, “We cannot fight our people, we cannot put them in a position where they have to struggle alone. We cannot have the ideology that their struggle will be limited, and they will eventually We should not disturb the soul of India. Can we draw a line between the farmers and the government?
On Minimum Support Price, the Vice President said, “Today the farmer has been given only one job, to grow grains in the fields and then think about selling it at the right price. I do not understand why we cannot work out a formula in which our farmers can be rewarded in consultation with economists and think tanks. We are not even giving them their due, leave alone rewarding them. They are also stingy in giving what we had promised, and I do not understand why talks are not being held with the farmers. Our mindset should be positive.”
He said, “It is a very narrow assessment that the farmers’ movement means only those who are on the streets. No, the farmer’s son is an officer today, the farmer’s son is a government employee. Why did Lal Bahadur Shastri ji say – Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Our attitude towards that Jai Kisan should be the same as Lal Bahadur Shastri had imagined. My pain is that the farmers and their well-wishers are silent today, shying away from speaking. No power in the country can suppress the voice of the farmer. If any nation tries to test the tolerance of the farmer, it will have to pay a heavy price.”
–IANS
GCB/ABM
