Farmers who commit suicide are ‘cowards': Haryana Agriculture minister

Farmer woman shows mustard crop damaged in unseasonal rain at Malaca village, outskirts of Allalhabad, Uttar Pradesh. (Source: AP photo)

As the farmer suicide issue gathers momentum, a minister in Haryana CM M L Khattar cabinet has courted controversy after he termed the farmers who committed suicide as ‘cowards’, ‘criminals’.

Agriculture minister OP Dhankar told media that ‘suicide is a crime as per Indian laws’. He said the state government could not support farmers who were committing suicide as they were criminals under the rule of law.

Dhankar further added that the so called ‘coward’ farmers who were committing suicide were running away from their responsibilities and leaving their families with liabilities.

O P Dhankar, who previously headed the BJP Kisan Cell, used to condemn the earlier UPA government for not doing enough for farmers, leading to farmer suicides.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday vowed to raise voice for farmers on very platform and said the government should take into account their concerns and not just extend monetary assistance.

The Congress Vice President, who met farmers hit by unseasonal rains in Punjab and stayed here overnight after travelling by train to the NDA-ruled state, also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking whether the farmers are not contributing to ‘Make in India’ by providing food to the entire country.

Source:: Indian Express