Farmer deaths in Haryana a non-issue: Ambala MP

YAMUNANAGAR: At a time Haryana has seen five shock deaths of farmers in over a week due to widespread crop damage in the aftermath of the recent spell of unseasonal rains, BJP's Ambala MP Ratan Lal Kataria dismissed these deaths as a non-issue.
Defending the BJP government, Kataria said, "The issue has been blown out of proportion." He compared the plight of farmers in the state to that of land owners in Vidharbha region of Maharashtra which has seen many farmer suicides.He said, "Congress ke raj me Maharashtra me itne kisano ne suicide kar liya. Aur na jane kitne state hain jaha Congress raj me kisano ki suicide hua hain. Haryana me ika duka mamla hai, yaha to abhi chidiya ko jukam bhi nahi hua (So many farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra under the Congress regime. In many other Congress-ruled states farmers had ended their lives. In Haryana, there are barely one or two cases, so it's hardly a issue here."
Speaking at a press conference on the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on Tuesday, Kataria said, "Government is doing its job seriously and the crop loss as well as the condition of farmers who suffered losses is on our agenda."
He chose to skirt the contentious issue after a few questions and promised to make the Ambala Cantonment railway station into a world-class one with the collaboration of French government.
He also listed having a Rail Coach factory in Jagadhri as one of his top priorities.
A few days ago, AAP's Yogendra Yadav had led party workers and farmers to the house of Ambala BJP MP Rattan Lal Kataria in Panchkula to hand over a packet of salt to remind him that he owes the farmers.