SC ‘pained’ at farmers’ suicide in TN; raps AIADMK govt

The Supreme Court on Thursday reprimanded the ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu for neglecting the issue of farmers' suicide in the state.

New Delhi, April 13: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu for neglecting the issue of farmers' suicide in the state.

A SC bench asked the TN government to file a detailed reply in the case regarding farmers committing suicide in the drought-hit state. The apex court slammed the state government for not taking enough measures for farmers.

During the hearing of the case, the SC bench said that it was painful to hear farmers are committing suicide and the state government is not taking enough steps. According to an estimate, the crisis in the agriculture sector in TN has reached a mammoth proportion. Since October last year, every day, two farmers are committing suicide in the state, say reports.

In fact, the SC's ruling has come at a time when a group of 80 farmers from the state are agitating at Jantar Mantar in the national capital demanding the Centre to waive off all their loans. The month-long protest, started on March 14, is unlikely to end soon as protesters said they won't give up till all their demands are met by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government.

Recently, three TN farmers staged a nude protest outside the Prime Minister's Office after they were denied an audience with PM Modi. The peaceful agitation has brought a lot of attention as the farmers are protesting with skulls.

The skulls are the remains of Tamil farmers who committed suicide due to severe drought in the state, say protesters. There are at least eight skulls at the protest site, reminding onlookers how drought forced several farmers in TN to commit suicide as they failed to pay back their loans taken from the banks and private money lenders.

On April 4, the Madras high court in Chennai came to the rescue of drought-hit farmers of the state. In its order, the court directed the ruling AlADMK government to waive off loans of all farmers in cooperative banks. Earlier, the TN government had waived off loans of farmers who owned five-acre of land.

OneIndia News