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 possible future prime ministers. At the very last minute that opportunity got snatched out of his hands. His name somewhat receded in the background after that, in political circles as well as in the media. SS as an organization also never reached that height again in the national capital. Joshi’s attempts to organize farmers into a national united front took place parallel to his activities on the political front. In a way, both were complementary to each other. His warm relationship with V.P. Singh was primarily a part of his politics and it also was useful in Joshi’s work with the farmers. Singh as Prime Minister attended a meeting of the Kisan Coordination Committee (KCC) in Delhi. That happened on 31 December 1989. Prime Minister came along with his Deputy Devi Lal, who also served as the Minister for Agriculture. That was something Joshi and other members of KCC felt proud of because in the past nobody in power had taken a similar note of KCC; even a State Minister had never attended any KCC meeting. This heightened Joshi’s expectations from Singh and also his own stature as a nationally recognized leader of the farmers. On 14 March 1990 Prime Minister Singh appointed a Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) to formulate National Agriculture Policy having six members and made Joshi its Chairman, with a cabinet rank. He made that announcement at a farmers’ rally in Chandigarh organized by Bharatiya Kisan Union and followed it up next day with a formal announcement to that effect in the Parliament. He wanted Joshi to put forward as a proposal, his thoughts on agriculture. It was a wonderful opportunity for Joshi to influence the working of the government and help induce some radical changes which he was always talking about. Joshi based himself in Delhi for a few months and worked hard to put together that report. It is worth mentioning that while working on this Committee Joshi did not stay in any government accommodation, did not Farmers on the National Agenda

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