The Days Of Caste Politics Are Over

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is once again at the receiving end of Jat anger, this time over the Centre’s new farm laws. But in this interview with Anilesh S. Mahajan, he sounds resolutely focused on governance issues rather than electoral imperatives. Excerpts:

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

Q. You are currently facing two challenges: the ongoing pandemic and the farmers’ agitation. Several villages in your state have put up hoardings banning the entry of BJP-JJP leaders and workers. How do you propose to tackle these challenges?

A. Challenges are a part of life, there is no shying away from them. But challenges also bring opportunities, which can yield rich societal dividend if you build on them. It is not that Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought these new farm laws out of thin air. They were discussed during Congress and UPA times. The then agriculture minister Sharad Pawar also held several rounds of discussion. In Haryana, the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government brought in the APMC Act in 2006; it was later amended in 2008. The framework for contract farming and other procurement measures was already there. PM Modi brought new laws only to ease farmers’ challenges so that small landholdings could be consolidated to become commercially viable, farmers got better yields and marketing freedom. We will buy their produce on MSP (minimum support price). They will also have the option of selling in the open market.

Q. Many agriculture economists have made a similar case over the past six months. Why, then, is the BJP unable to communicate it to the state’s farmers?

A. It is not that we have not been able to make them understand. There is a bunch of people who do not want to understand. There were 11 rounds of discussions between farm leaders and central ministers, and after hour-long discussions, they’d return to their demand of repealing the laws. There are professional politicians in Haryana who think that by involving the khap panchayats they can topple governments. I have been given a mandate by the electorate of my state, it cannot be snatched.