'Distress' tourist Rahul Gandhi must stop provoking farmers: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday alleged that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who has been indulging in distress tourism, is spreading gloom among the farmers rather than giving them the confidence and courage to fight the existing situation.

"We have always held that Rahul Gandhi has been indulging in distress tourism, going around spreading gloom among the farmers rather than sharing their situation and giving them the confidence and courage to fight the situation," BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao told ANI.

"The Congress Party is actually complicit in provoking the farmers, who are in distress and forcing them to commit actions like this," he added while commenting on the suicide of a farmer whom the Congress vice-president had met during his visit to Sirhind, Punjab.

The BJP leader also urged all the political parties not to play politics with farmer suicides.

"It was actually during the Congress regime of 10 years between 2004-2014, the farmer suicides have peaked and have happened unlike never before in India's history. Rahul Gandhi must stop from provoking the people to commit such crimes because it is going to hurt the entire families of farmers who commit such suicides," he said.

Sixty-year-old farmer Surjit Singh allegedly committed suicide in Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib district yesterday.

According to reports, the farmer was unable to pay off the loan which he had taken. The farmer's wheat crop was destroyed by the unseasonal rain in March and April.

Singh had briefed Gandhi on the plight of the farmers and distress caused to them by crop loss due to unseasonal rains. Meanwhile, Punjab Pradesh Committee Congress chief Pratap Singh Bajwa has announced a compensation of Rs. two lakh for the family members of the farmer.