Today is the birthday of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, also known as the farmer’s messiah. People all around the country, particularly farmers, are honouring him on this important day. Chaudhary Charan Singh is regarded as one of the most ardent supporters of his cause.
From July 1979 until January 1980, Chaudhary Charan Singh served as Prime Minister of the country, implementing several initiatives aimed at improving the lives and conditions of farmers. Despite only serving as Prime Minister for a brief time, Chaudhary Charan Singh implemented a number of farmer-friendly policies. The Land Holding Act of 1960 was another game-changing bill drafted by Charan Singh. When Charan Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, he enacted this law.
Due to his obstinacy, he even sacrificed his coalition government at the centre and resigned as Prime Minister. On August 21, 1979, he handed over his 23-day government to President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. Even if his government falls, he has stated unequivocally that he will not seek backing from Indira Gandhi’s Congress.
He had stated in his resignation that he did not want Indira Gandhi’s backing for his government because she had made a condition that the cases filed against her in connection with the Emergency’s excesses be dropped. “This condition is unacceptable to me, and I am quitting my position. If we do this to stay in power, the country would not forgive us,” Chaudhary Charan Singh had remarked. “Even if we have to accomplish it on our own. How can we dismiss all charges against everyone involved in the oppression of people during the Emergency?”
Apart from being a farmer’s leader, Chaudhary Charan Singh is also known as the backward class’s voice. Today, Chaudhary Charan Singh did an excellent job of giving voice to the significant mobilization of OBC communities in UP, such as the Jat, Yadav, and Gurjar. Not only that, but SP Patron Mulayam Singh Yadav has remained close to him for a long time, referring to himself as his political heir. Mulayam Singh Yadav revealed an anecdote in 2016 about Chaudhary Charan Singh offering him the position of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1977.
Mulayam explained why he did not run for CM despite Chaudhary Sahib’s advice.
Mulayam Singh Yadav remarked, “Chaudhary Charan Singh wanted to see me as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1977, but I understood that if I became the state’s chief minister today, my political career would be jeopardized. Mulayam Singh Yadav had claimed on the occasion of the socialist leader Raj Narayan’s death anniversary, “There were certain gimmicks at the time who did not want me to become CM. They visited Rajnarayan, who informed me that he would give me a formidable ministry, but that I would not be the Chief Minister. That is why I did not seek re-election as CM.”
Mulayam Singh Yadav eventually became the state’s Chief Minister in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party (SP), demanded the Bharat Ratna for former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on Thursday, as the nation commemorated the 119th birth anniversary of the country’s fifth Prime Minister.
“On the occasion of his birth anniversary, I pay a heartfelt tribute to the most revered Chaudhary Charan Singh Ji. On the anniversary of ‘Kisan Diwas,’ we seek the Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh Ji, who dedicated his life to farmers and the country,” Yadav wrote onTwitter.