Farmers Movement Archive

‘Proud andolan jeevi’: P Chidambaram’s take on phrase coined by PM Modi

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday described himself as a ‘proud andolan jeevi,’ two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined the phrase in the Rajya Sabha, in reference to people who, according to the Prime Minister, ‘can be spotted at every agitation.’ Chidambaram further emphasised his point by calling Mahatma Gandhi the ‘quintessential andolan jeevi.’Also Read | ‘‘The nation attained independence through agitation’: Akhilesh Yadav on PM Modi's ‘andolanjivi’ remarks“I’m a proud andolan jeevi. The quintessential andolan jeevi was Mahatma Gandhi,” The former Union minister tweeted on Wednesday, with the hashtag ‘iamandolanjeevi.’I am a proud andolan jeevi. The quintessential andolan jeevi was Mahatma Gandhi.#iamanandolanjeeviThe term has not gone down well with the farmers’ leaders, who have been spearheading protests against the three farm laws, as well as the Opposition. All of them have accused PM Modi of using it for farmers who have been protesting peacefully against the legislations on the borders of Delhi since November last year.The Prime Minister came up with the term ‘andolan jeevi’ in the Upper House of Parliament on Monday, while responding to Motion of Thanks on President Ram Nath Kovind’s address in the House. “Today we see that a new class of people have come up. They can be seen wherever there is a protest, be it by lawyers, students, or labourers. They can’t live without protests. We need to identify such people and protect the country from them,” he said, further calling them ‘parasites.’Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Harayana, have been protesting on three borders in the national capital-Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur-against the laws that were passed amid chaotic scenes in the Parliament last September. 11 rounds of talks have failed to resolve the deadlock between the protesting farmers and the central government. The farmers have two main demands: a legal assurance on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and complete rollback of the laws.While the Centre has repeatedly reassured that the MSP will stay, it has categorically refused to withdraw the legislations.

Hindustan Times

10-02-2021

India