Maharashtra may have recorded near half of the total number of farmers’ suicide in the country last year, but this doesn’t make the elected representative from the state any more sensitive.
A Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Maharashtra, Gopal Shetty has said that those committing suicides were doing so because it had become a fashion trend.
IBN Live quoted Shetty as saying, “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.”
His statement comes after the National Crime Records Bureau data revealed that Maharashtra had recorded more than 2000 deaths of farmers in in the first nine months of 2015.
This, according to the NCRB data, was almost half of the total number of suicides committed by farmers across the country.
His statement also come ahead of Prime Minister farmers’ rally in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday (18 February) where he is likely to highlight the government’s initiatives for the development of the agriculture sector and welfare of the agriculturists.
Later he clarified on the given statement saying ‘I wanted to say that there is a fashion of giving compensation to farmers committing suicide.Instead of using word competition I said fashion,If my entire clipping would have been shown, my message would’ve gone very clear to listeners: ‘ (ANI)
(Photo Indian Express)