Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the problems of the farmers should not be politicised for votes as that will cause divisions in the country.
Heaping praise on farmers, the Vice President said that agriculture was the backbone of the country's economy and that when all other sectors of the economy had suffered, production in the agricultural sector increased for two successive years.
"All governments should give priority to farmers and ensure remunerative prices of the crops. There must always be a dialogue between farmers and the government," he stated.
"But the farmers' problems should not be linked to politics. When it is linked to votes, there is always division. The politics should take place in the political arena only," he added.
Naidu said this at a gathering here on Sunday during the launch of five volumes of collected works on the life and writings of prominent Haryanvi farmer leader, Sir Chhotu Ram.
Naidu further said that though people have the right to question the government, they should be ready to receive new ideas. "Why can't there be a single market for the whole country? It is ridiculous that Andhra Pradesh's rice cannot be sold in Tamil Nadu," he stated
"The whole country should be a single food zone and there should be no restrictions. It is very important and in the interest of farmers only," he added.
He said that it is absolutely important to modernise agriculture and adopt best practices to make it more sustainable and remunerative.
"Building on our past experiences, we must regularly revisit and renew our strategies on agriculture and rural development and introduce new technologies as part of our efforts to build a self-reliant India," he stated.
In his speech, Naidu also credited Ram for major agricultural reforms in the erstwhile province of Punjab and for freeing farmers from exploitation of money lenders.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and many others also attended the event.
Meanwhile, farmers have been protesting since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Farmer leaders and the Centre have held several rounds of talks but the impasse remains.
( With inputs from ANI )
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