Our Correspondent /
In a most shocking remarks, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP MP from Maharashtra Gopal Shetty has said that there is a fashion, a trend among farmers to committ sucide.
BJP MP from North Mumbai Gopal Shetty said, “All farmer suicides are not only because of hunger and unemployment. There is a fashion, a trend is on. If Maharashtra government is giving Rs 5 lakh, another government is giving Rs 7 lakh, Rs 8 lakh. There is a competition going on to give money to farmers,” he said.
He also claimed that there is a competition going on between governments to give money to farmers.
The remarks come at a time when Maharashtra is reeling under an agrarian crisis with 124 farmers committing suicide in the state since January 2016.
Ironically, the statement comes just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday where he will highlight the government’s initiatives for the development of the agriculture sector and welfare of the agriculturists.
During the ‘Kisan Kalyan Mela’ at Sehore, he will release the guidelines for operationalisation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana which was approved by the Union Cabinet in January, a PMO statement said.
Condemning the comments, Congress said the “insensitive” remarks by Shetty show BJP’s “insensitivity” towards farmers. “At a time when Maharashtra is undergoing its worst-ever agrarian crisis, Shetty’s remarks show how insensitive he and his party are towards thousands of farmers who have committed suicide due to debt and crop failure,” MRCC president Sanjay Nirupam said.