Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had on Tuesday spoken out in support of the protesting farmers, appeared to pipe down on Friday after the Congress asked the government if it had taken cognisance of the Vice-President’s concerns.

While attending an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, Dhankhar had said the farmers were in distress as they were not getting fair value for their products. He had asked agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was present at the programme, why the assurances given to farmers had not been kept.

During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked if the government had paid attention to the concerns expressed by a constitutional authority.

Before Chouhan could respond, Dhankhar sought to clarify his position by saying that he was articulating his expectations from the minister, who had evolved a popular scheme for women. “The minister was with me there. I told him and assured him that the person who is known for designing the Ladli (Behna) scheme will become a ladla (son) of farmers. I am very hopeful. The minister will make it happen. I am giving you the name ‘kisan ki ladle’,” Dhankhar said.

On Tuesday, Dhankhar had reminded Chouhan about the assurance given to the farmers by his predecessor Narendra Singh Tomar. In December 2021, farmer unions had said they were calling off their yearlong agitation as the government had promised to consider their demand for a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP). So far, no such law has been implemented.

“I cannot understand why talks are not being held with farmers. Talks should start immediately. We should know what assurances have been given. Did your predecessor give any written assurance? If an assurance was made, what happened to them?” Dhankhar had asked.

He said farmers were struggling to get fair value for their products despite so many institutions working in the field of agriculture.

“Instead of rewarding farmers, we are not giving them their dues. We are behaving miserly on promises made. Heaven is not going to fall if we give fair value to our farmers,” Dhankhar had said.

A group of protesting farmers who tried to march from Shambhu in Punjab to Delhi on Friday were stopped by police who used tear gas to disperse them. Punjab-based farmer groups said seven protesters had been injured. Prohibitory orders are in force in Ambala in Haryana and Internet services have been suspended.

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, coordinator of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), continued his hunger strike at Khanauri on the Punjab side of the border with Haryana. He told reporters that agitating groups would discuss their future strategy after they were stopped from entering Haryana for the third time since February.

“Earlier the Centre used to say that they have an objection to tractor-trolleys, so farmers can come to Delhi without tractor-trolleys. But when 101 farmers proceeded towards Delhi from the Shambhu border today, tear-gas shells were fired at them,” he said.