Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh’s written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday that failed love affairs, dowry disputes and impotency were among the reasons for farmers’ suicides had the Opposition up in arms and further dented the image of the government, fighting hard to shed “anti-farmer” and “anti-poor” tags. K.C. Tyagi, Janata Dal (U) member, said outside the House that he would bring a Privilege Motion against the Minister.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I advise the Prime Minister to call his Ministers and ask them to visit farmers’ houses and see what is going on. The Central government is an anti-farmer government; Prime Minister Modi is only interested in his industrialist friends,” Mr. Gandhi told presspersons in Ananthpur of Andhra Pradesh, where he was holding a march to raise farmers’ issues.
It was Rajya Sabha member C.P. Narayan who had asked the Minister, in a starred question, how many farmers committed suicides in the past three years. “Whether lack of support to poor and small farmers by way of greater inputs and better support prices for their produce, is the main reason for burgeoning suicides?” the member sought to know.
Mr. Singh’s reply said 31,000 farmers had killed themselves between 2012 and 2014. “According to NCRB [National Crime Records Bureau], causes of suicide include family problems, illness, drug abuse/addiction, unemployment, property dispute, professional/career problems, love affairs, barrenness/impotency, cancellation/non-settlement of marriage, dowry dispute, fall in social reputation and unknown causes,” it said.
“Causes of suicides by farmers due to agrarian distress include indebtedness, crop failure, drought, socio-economic and personal,” it concluded.
“The BJP has proved with its response that it runs an insensitive government that cares little for farmers,” Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh said. The reply came at a time of acute agrarian distress in the country.
The replies to questions in Parliament prepared by Ministries and departments are usually vetted by the Ministers’ staff before they are tabled, a Union Minister’s aide said.
