For democracy to thrive, expression and dialogue must coexist, says Jagdeep Dhankhar 

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday (December 22, 2024) called for accountability of lawmakers and said people would force them to think why they were sent to Parliament. His comments came in the wake of a sharp drop in productivity in the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament. 

Addressing recipients of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Awards-2024, he said for any democracy to succeed, expression and dialogue must go hand in hand with great responsibility on both sides. “It is time for every thinking Indian to scratch his brains and to generate a deep sense of accountability with all those who are enjoined with obligations. Make no mistake, I am referring to parliamentarians,” he said, adding, “People will force you to think, why did you go there [Parliament]?”

Reflecting on former Prime Minister Charan Singh’s legacy, Mr. Dhankhar said, “Agriculture is the spine of rural development. Unless agriculture develops, the rural landscape cannot be changed. And unless the rural landscape changes, we cannot aspire to have a developed nation.”

Discussing India’s economic trajectory, he added, “Undoubtedly, at the moment, India is on the rise as never before. Indisputably, our economy is blossoming. We are the fifth largest globally and on track to becoming the third largest, ahead of Japan and Germany. But to be a developed nation by 2047, our income must increase eightfold — a daunting challenge.”

 Mr. Dhankhar also laid stress on the need for strengthening the village economy.

“The greatest market we have is agricultural produce, yet farming communities are hardly involved with it. The farming sector must be prioritised by governments for it to become an engine of economic development,” he added.

The awards were presented for contributions to agriculture, rural development, and journalism.

Published - December 22, 2024 07:25 pm IST