Mockery of farmer deaths

Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh’s claim that his reply that farmer suicides were due to factors like love affairs, dowry disputes, impotency, drug addiction, etc. was based on National Crime Records Bureau and state statistics is shocking. He should have given a break-up of how many of these reasons were cited in the case of farmers’ suicides.

Besides, what then does this make of Prime Minister Modi’s election speeches blaming farmer deaths on the anti-farmer policies of the Manmohan Singh government, and of the Congress over 60 years? Mr Modi had dubbed Congress policies as “Mar Jawan, Mar kisan” and had promised farmers 50 per cent more over production cost.

Today, even 14 months after coming to power, he has not fulfilled his promise. And now Mr Mohan Singh gives this ridiculous reasoning to wriggle out of his government’s broken election promise. This is not only deceiving farmers in distress but mocking their deaths. The question in Parliament to Mr Mohan Singh was very clear: the MP wanted to know the government view on farmers’ indebtedness due to increase in costs and asked the Modi government to keep its promise to the farmers.

The cotton farmers got less in 2014-15 (Rs 4,000 per quintal for cotton) than the Rs 5,000 they got in the last year of the Congress government. It is not too late to keep the poll promise made to the farmers. For this year’s cotton crop, for instance, due for harvesting in November, the price given is an unremunerative Rs 4,100. Will Mr Modi and Mr Mohan Singh act?