Chhattisgarh Bharatiya Janata Party president Ram Sevak Paikre’s remark, that a farmer himself is responsible if he ends his life, on Saturday sparked controversy here with the Opposition Congress taking strong exception to the “insensitive” observation.
Apparently trying to downplay the Friday’s tragic incident at Bhidia in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district, in which a young farmer committed suicide by consuming pesticide following crop failure, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the state government should not be blamed for the agriculturist’s suicide and “the farmer himself is to blame for taking the extreme step”. “There are so many welfare schemes being run by the state government for improving the farmers’ conditions. A farmer can approach the government for his rehabilitation under these schemes, instead of ending his life,” Mr Paikre told reporters here.
Flaying the BJP leader for giving an “insensitive comment on a sensitive issue”, All-India Congress Committee leader in-charge of Chhattisgarh B.K. Hariprasad observed, “This reflects the arrogance of the BJP government in the state.”
He described the state government’s “indifference” to the plight of the farmers as “disappointing” and added, “The BJP leader humiliated the entire farming community by giving the deplorable remark.”
Bal Bhagwan Yadav, father of two children, aged seven and five, ended his life when his entire crop of potato was destroyed due to the unseasoned rains in September. Reports reaching here said Bal had reportedly borrowed a huge sum of `1.70 lakh from the local mahajan (lender). He had mortgaged his house and three acre farm lands for the purpose.
“Bal lapsed into acute depression following the crop failure, finding no way to repay the loan. He committed suicide by consuming poison leaving behind his widow, two minor children and an unmarried sister,” member of a visiting Congress team told this newspaper quoting a villager.
His body was consigned to flames in the village on Saturday.