Why did the agri minister appointed by farmers quit

New Delhi, July 24: The second day of "Kisan Sansad" in Delhi's Jantar Mantar saw a 37-year-old man acting as the agriculture minister, who subsequently resigned after failing to answer questions related to the farmers' issues.

Thousands of farmers have been seeking a repeal of the three farm laws that were enacted last year.
Ravneet Singh Brar, from Punjab's Muktsar with an MBA degree, was chosen to play the role of the "Krishi Mantri" (Agriculture Minister) at the Kisan Sansad for a day, which he felt was a "big opportunity" since he belongs to a family of farmers.

He has been an active participant in the farmer's protest at the Singhu border since the very beginning and is also the spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian).

Friday's Kisan Sansad was headed by six members including its own Speaker Hardev Singh Arshi, deputy Speaker Jagtar Singh Bajwa, and V Venkataramaiah, Jangvir Singh Chauhan, Mukesh Chandra and Harpal Singh Bilari.

The Kisan Sansad will continue till August 9 as permitted by Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

Slogans were raised against Ravneet Singh Brar who tried to defend himself. He was shamed every time he failed to give a satisfactory response to the members of the Kisan Sansad. He and his "government" were also termed anti-farmer and called the "slaves" of the corporate world.

"As an agriculture minister, I responded to all their questions but when I felt the Sansad members had put up a legit question and I did not have answers to it, I adopted the strategy of ignoring it and slowly diverting the attention of the Sansad towards other matters," Brar told news agency PTI.

"If they spoke about farmer suicides, I spoke about oxygen. I spoke about how we generated employment. I also spoke about how farmers' protest was being a potential spreader of virus in Delhi," he said.

The Krishi Mantri was shamed when the Sansad asked him about his stand on the Minimum Support Price and why it was not being implemented as a law.

(PTI)