It was Sharad Joshi, who spoke at the inaugural session and then again in two technical sessions on the inaugural day, as not even a half dozen of 16,000 invitees responded positively to the invitation extended by him. The three-day exercise was publicised as a novel programme that ensured the participation of a large number of people from different fields, in a debate over what went wrong after Independence and what could be the possible solutions.

Those present on dais and who took part in the deliberations on the opening day were all leaders of farmers' organisations. In the absence of invited dignitaries, it was left to farmer leaders like former Punjab MP Bhupinder Singh Mann, Gujarat leader Bipinbhai Desai, Kisan Coordination Committee Chairman Premsingh Dahiya and Gail Omvet, a keen watcher of the farmers' movement to share their thoughts. Their presence was the saving grace. Another feature was the sizeable number of delegates from Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and other northern states. They, in fact, outnumbered delegates from Maharashtra.

In his inaugural remarks, Joshi explained the need to organise such a programme. Since political parties are not interested in serious introspection or to find out long term solutions to serious problems affecting the developmental plans, the Sanghatana decided to undertake the responsibility of a Jan Sansad to provide a platform to all those interested in serious discussion, he said.

Outside the pandal, an exhibition was organised. Significantly, a stall was put by Monsanto company, which was in the eye of a recent storm over the introduction of the `Terminator cotton seed' in India. The company, which conducted field trials for the introduction of their pest resistant seeds, faced the ire of farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.