Farmers Movement Archive

Rajya Sabha: Patriotism is not just raising slogans, says RJD MP Manoj Jha

Patriotism is not just raising slogans and is not worn on the sleeves, said Rashtriya Janata Dal lawmaker Manoj Jha in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday while participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address. He said patriotism is speaking about the well-being of the nation. Jha criticised the government’s response to the farmers’ protest and the tendency to dub anyone with a contrary opinion as anti-national. He quoted from Macbeth: “Boundless intemperance in nature is a tyranny; it hath been the untimely emptying of the happy throne and fall of many kings.”Also Read | Farm debates marked relatively smoother day of Parliament: All you need to knowJha said, “The biggest tukde tukde gang [alleged sympathisers of separatists] is that which does not understand the pain of the people.” Taking a jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has 303 members in the Lok Sabha, he added: “... they have 303, but numbers do not decide history. Your sensitivity decides your highs and lows.”Jha called the decision by 18 opposition parties to boycott the President’s address “painful”. He added the address was distanced from the current situation. He referred to the government’s discussions with the farmers’ representatives and added that there is a difference between a monologue and a dialogue.“A country is not a map drawn on paper. It is not the army and police and slogans but the building of relations. The government has to build bridges, “ he said. He accused the government of creating divides.He referred to the government’s response to the tweets by international pop star Rihanna and environmental activist Greta Thunberg in support of the farmers’ agitation. “...our democracy is strong. It will not be weakened by anyone’s tweet.”Swapan Dasgupta, a nominated member of Rajya Sabha, underlined that the farmers’ condition is not uniform in the country. “There are two lakh farmers in Punjab and Haryana who are in the top 8% of incomes in India. About 20,000 of them have incomes in the top 2%. This is not to berate them. This is only to admire their hard work, integrity and persistence, and adoption of technology. Unfortunately, this is not a situation that prevails in the whole country,” he said.He added in West Bengal, most are marginal farmers with land holdings that are not enough to survive and only 9-10% of the farmers secure the minimum support price.Dasgupta defended the farm laws and added the legal sanctities that they give are important for lifting communities. “I urge people to look at the whole country, not in terms of what a few successful have done.’Telugu Desam Party’s Ravindra Kumar said the government should be magnanimous to accommodate the demands of the farmers. BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia called 2020 a challenging year, which saw many ups and downs. He added India rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the Covid-19 pandemic. “...the President spoke about how India handled the crisis. It was an enemy that could not be seen. Our first power was PM [Prime Minister Narendra Modi]’s leadership; 36 states were brought together. A policy on a war footing was drafted...” he said.He spoke about the government’s response to the pandemic and to check the spread of the virus. He added the second wave of the infection could not even touch India. “The reason is that the government took the right decisions at the right time. The PM said Jaan hai toh jahan hai. Without worrying about financial implications, cash transfers were made to people,” he said. “There was a lockdown in 1975 when Emergency was imposed when the whole country was turned into a jail. Truth is the truth...”

Hindustan Times

04-02-2021

India