Govt insensitive; treatment given to farmers could lead to crisis: Pawar

Calling the Centre "insensitive" over the handling of farmers' protests, NCP President Sharad Pawar on Thursday said if farmers leave peaceful means of agitation it would lead to a major crisis in the country and the BJP government will be responsible for it.

Slamming the government for erecting multi-layered barricades, concertina wires with iron nails studded on roads, Pawar said this did not happen even during the British rule.

Pawar, who was Union Agriculture Minister from 2004-2014, accused the government of not willing to solve the farmers' protest issue.

"They don't want to solve the problem. I am worried that today, if the farmers, who are peacefully agitating, take some other path, then this would lead to a major crisis. And the BJP government has to take responsibility for this. There are many issues but today those who are in power are not sensitive," he said.

He warned that the end of the government which is not sensitive is near sooner or later.

Pawar also attacked the government for not allowing Opposition MPs to visit the protesting farmers at Ghazipur. Pawar's daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule was among the Opposition lawmakers.

"They (the opposition MPs) had gone there peacefully just to check the well-being of farmers but even they were not allowed to go. If this is the case in democracy then they (the government) have to pay a heavy price today or tomorrow," he said.

Sule also took to twitter and slammed the government. In her tweet in Marathi, she said the government should shed arrogance and engage in talks with the farmers and address the issue.

Pawar was among the Opposition leaders to visit President Ram Nath Kovind in December to seek repeal of the three contentious farm laws.