Farmer suicides due to personal reasons too, says MP minister after Mandsaur violence

Even as his state is marred by farmers' protests, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister claimed that farmer suicides in the state may have been due to personal reasons. After six farmers lost their lives in Madsaur violence, BJP leader Bhupendra Singh on Wednesday said that debts were not the only reason for farmers committing suicide.

"If a farmer is committing suicide it is not necessary that he was into debt. There can be various reasons for a farmer to commit suicide," Bhupendra Singh said. His remarks come on the day Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited families of farmers who were killed in police firing in Mandsaur.

As Mandsaur burned over the killing of five farmers last Tuesday, Bhupendra Singh had claimed that security forces had not opened fire at protestors. Two days later, he issued another statement admitting that farmers were killed in police firing. The state, despite a bumper harvest in winter as well as summer crops, became the epicentre of farmers' protests. Farmers protested demanding loan waivers and better prices for their produce which turned violent and led to the loss of lives.

Despite the very real farmer issues that plague the state, Home Minister chose to attribute personal problems as the reason for farmer suicides.

OneIndia News