A nation that tests farmers' patience will pay a heavy price: Jagdeep Dhankhar

Amid the raging farmer protests, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday made strong remarks asking the government why it was not holding a dialogue with the protesting farmers.

With agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on stage at an ICAR event in Mumbai, the VP asked him, “Agriculture Minister Sir, every moment is critical for you. I urge you, and as the person holding the second-highest constitutional position in India, I request you to please tell me, was any promise made to the farmers, and why has it not been fulfilled? What are we doing to fulfil the promise? There was an agitation last year, and there is one this year as well, and time is passing, but we are doing nothing.”

Dhankhar said he was feeling hurt and addressing Chouhan, he said, “You are the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. I am reminded of Sardar Patel, and his responsibility to unify the nation, which he did so excellently. This challenge is before you today, and it should not be considered any less than the unity of India.”

Invoking Punjab farmer Jagjit Singh Dallewal, on a fast unto death demanding legal backing to the MSP, Dhankhar said a dialogue with the farmers should happen immediately and everyone should know if any promises were made to the farmers. Dallewal, the head of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non Political) has maintained that the government since the time of ex agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh made promises to farmers which it did not keep.

Mentioning Dallewal, Dhankhar asked Chouhan, “Honorable Agriculture Minister, did the previous agriculture ministers make any written promises? If so, what happened to them?”

Drawing attention to the agitating farmers, the VP said, “We cannot fight with our own people and put them in this situation where they are left to fight on their own.”

“We cannot hold the ideology that their struggle will be limited and they will eventually tire out. We should not disturb the soul of India, we should not hurt its heart. Can we create a boundary between the farmer and the government? Those whom we need to embrace cannot be pushed away,” Dhankhar said referring to Dallewal who has claimed that promises made to the farmers have not been fulfilled.

“This is your challenge. When any government makes a promise, and it is related to the farmers, we should never leave anything incomplete,” Dhankhar said, adding that a nation that tests the patience of farmers has to pay a heavy price.

The VP also urged the government to consider farmers’ requests about Minimum Support Price positively.

“Our mindset should be positive; we should not create obstacles by thinking that giving the farmers this price will have negative consequences. Whatever price we give to the farmers, the nation will benefit five times over…Who are those people who say that if we give our farmers a fair price for their produce, that would cause a disaster,” he said.

Reflecting on the broader impact of the farmers’ movement, the VP said it was a very narrow assessment to think that the farmers’ movement refers only to those on the streets.

“No. The son of a farmer is now an officer, the son of a farmer is now a government employee. Why did Lal Bahadur Shastri say, 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'? With that 'Jai Kisan', our attitude should be the same as was envisioned by Shastri,” said the VP.