New Delhi, March 21 -- Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said that agriculture is the backbone of India's economy, and farmers are the soul of it.

Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on demands for grants related to his ministry, the Union Minister alleged that farmers were killed under the Congress government's rule.

"I was shocked that Jawaharlal Nehru, in his Independence Day speech till 1963, mentioned the farmers only three times," he said, adding that "In Bihar, under the Congress government in 1986, police fired on farmers during a protest, leading to the death of 23 people. In 1988, in Uttar Pradesh, 5 farmers were killed."

"Agriculture is the backbone of India's economy, and farmers are the soul of...