BJP MLA Says Farmers Who Commit Suicide Are "Subsidy Lickers" And "Not Real Farmers"

BJP MLA Says Farmers Who Commit Suicide Are Subsidy Lickers And Not Real Farmers

BJP Madhya Pradesh MLA Rameshwar Sharma says ‘Mare vo kisaan hain jo kisaan kum aur subsidy chaatne ka vyapaar zyada karte hain’ pic.twitter.com/XdghFAUSK6

— ANI (@ANI_news) February 17, 2017

At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his several rallies in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh has been reiterating his plans to eradicate farmer’s woes by providing them with beneficial facilities, waiving off their loans, and also supporting their livelihood by offering free urea, BJP Madhya Pradesh MLA Rameshwar Sharma made a brash comment on farmer suicides.

While addressing a press conference, the MLA was quoted as saying, “Mare vo kisaan hain jo kisaan kum aur subsidy chaatne ka vyapaar zyada karte hain”, which translates in English to – those farmers who have committed suicides are less farmers and more into the business of licking subsidy.

Utterly insensitive to the loss and burden of loans which forces farmers to give up their lives, the MLA continued to insult them by adding that rich people die, while those who are real farmers, battle against all odds and don’t commit suicide.

Farmers committing suicide is a long-standing issue in our country. As per an article in the Indian Express, 5,650 farmers committed suicide in 2014, while the number rose to more than 8000 in 2015. In the first 4 months of 2016, more than 100 farmers had given up their lives, and by July 2016, nearly 363 farmers had committed suicide due to agrarian reasons, as per a PTI report.

Maharashtra witnessed the maximum number of suicide rate last year. The situation became so grim due to unforeseen drought, that Bollywood actors Nana Patekar and Akshay Kumar came out to help the families of farmers overcome debt.

On January 27, the Supreme Court favoured a comprehensive national policy to protect farmers, many of whom had committed suicide due to rising debt and crop failures caused by natural calamities, terming it a “sensitive” matter of public interest and human rights.

After hearing an appeal filed by NGO ‘Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative’ on issues relating to farmers in Gujarat, a bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice N V Ramana had said, “It is a sensitive matter of larger public interest and human rights which covers the entire country.”