AIKS Press Note, July 24, 2015

24th July, 2015

In an extremely insensitive remark the Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has claimed that farmers are committing suicides due to failed love affairs. The All India Kisan Sabha condemns his statement and seeks that he apologise for making such an insensitive comment and demands that he resign from his post immediately. His statement reflects the attitude of the Narendra Modi-led BJP Government which has been in a denial mode despite concrete reports of widespread suicides by Farmers across the country. It comes at a time when hundreds of farmers caught in debt trap have ended their lives. The Agricultural Minister and different BJP Ministers in the Central Government as well as in States like Maharashtra and Haryana have made such unwarranted comments and sought to trivialise a human tragedy of such a great magnitude.

The All India Kisan Sabha teams have visited Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka and other States witnessing an increase in Farmers’ suicides ever since the Narendra Modi-led BJP Government has come to power and spoke to families of Farmers committing suicide. We have found that the acceleration of Neoliberal economic policies, total failure of the Government to curb rising input prices, unremunerative prices of crops, lack of procurement and absence of State support, systematic dilution of MGNREGA leading to lesser employment opportunities, shrinking access to institutional credit and unregulated intervention of Moneylenders as well as absence of effective crop and income insurance has led to such a dismal scenario. The BJP Government instead of effectively addressing the agrarian crisis and providing relief to Farmers is resorting to diversionary tactics and insulting the Farmers who by their toil and sacrifice are feeding the Nation under precarious conditions.

The AIKS calls upon its units to protest against this attitude of the Agriculture Minister and BJP Government.

Sd/- Amra Ram, President

Hannan Mollah, General Secretary