Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar urges Centre to hold talks with protesting farmers

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday urged the Centre to hold discussions with protesting farmers immediately.

Dhankhar asked Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was present at the event in Mumbai, if promises made to farmers had been kept.

“Agriculture minister sir, every moment is critical for you,” Dhankhar said. “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 farmer, and why has it not been fulfilled?”

“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, adding that the “soul of India” should not be disturbed.

Dhankhar also asked why a formula for providing minimum support price, a key demand of the protesting farmers, had not yet been worked out in consultation with economists and think tanks.

A minimum support price is the rate at which the government buys farm produce from cultivators. It is based on a calculation that aims to compensate farmers with at least one-and-a-half times the cost incurred in production.

Dhankhar said: “While India is developing, why is the farmer stressed? This is a major concern. Taking this matter lightly means that we are not practical, our policy making...

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