After Centre's invite to protesting Punjab farmers, Vice-President Dhankhar reiterates might of dialogue

After the Centre invited the protesting farmers of Punjab for talks, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar reiterated the importance of dialogue in democracy.

Recently, Dhankhar had publicly advised Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to invite the agitating farmers for talks and consider their demands. Today after the government opened talks with the farmers, Dhankhar said: "Democratic polity thrives on discourse. Expression and discourse are fundamental to democracy. We cannot claim to be living in a democracy if we do not have right of expression." The Vice-President added that the right to expression without dialogue is incomplete.

"Absence of dialogue can be apocalyptic! Absence of dialogue can be death-knell for democratic institutions. Consideration of varying points of view is the nectar of democracy. Democracy flourishes through inclusive dialogue, free from fear or ridicule," he said.

The Vice-President added that a glimpse into our Indological heritage reveals that dialogue and discourse were central to resolving issues. Our scriptures and history emphasise that dialogue resolves conflicts and sustains society.