Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that agriculture was the “backbone of our economy” and called for unshackling the potential of rural economy to ensure income security for farmers.
“Agriculture is the basic culture of India. Half of the country today depends on agriculture. Our villages not only produce foodgrains but they also inculcate values and principles. All governments should give priority to welfare of farmers and ensure remunerative prices. There must always be a dialogue between farmers and government; however farmers’ problems should not be linked to politics. When it is linked to votes, then division happens,” he said. Naidu was addressing a gathering in Gurgaon after releasing five volumes of collected works of speeches and writing of Sir Chhotu Ram, the co-founder of National Unionist Party and prominent politician in pre-independent India.