It's rare to find a Vice President and President giving a reality check to the Union Ministers and the elected government at the Centre. In a rare rebuke, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, asked if promises were made to farmers and whether any step has been taken to fulfil them. Speaking at centenary celebrations of the Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT) in the presence of Chouhan and other government functionaries, Dhankhar rued the fact that farmers are forced to protest every year.


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"Today, India's PM is counted among the top global leaders. When such things are happening, why my farmers are in distress? Why are farmers stressed? This is a deep issue. We are not practical if we are taking it lightly. Our policymaking is not on the right track. Who are those people who are saying farmers cannot be given the right price for their yield? If we give that, I don't think the sky would fall. Farmers are alone, helpless," said Dhankhar.



Further, urging Chouhan to look into the matter, Dhankhar said, "Mr Agriculture minister, your every second is important....I request you to please tell me, were promises made to the farmers? Why was the promise not kept? What are we doing to keep our promise? There was a protest last year, there is a protest this year too. The wheel of time is turning, we are not doing anything."


Calling for introspection over the farmers' issue, Dhakhar said farmers are in trouble and suffering despite the presence of premier institutions like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).


He said India is going to become the world's third largest economy soon from the fifth, but to get the status of a developed nation, every citizen's income will have to increase by eight times, the majority of which will come from rural areas. 


Speaking on the occasion, Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said India cannot become a rich country without its cultivators. "A glorious, prosperous, rich India cannot be built without farmers. Even today, agriculture is the backbone of India's economy and farmers are its soul," he noted.